Baleshwar: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Odisha police arrested a bank officer for his alleged involvement in fraudulent sanction of gold loans and misappropriation of Rs 2.12 crore, officials said Monday.
The accused, identified as Satyabrata Bhoi, the then branch manager of a public sector bank, Joda branch, was arrested based on a case registered by Asutosh Susil Kumar Patnaik, the bank’s Baleshwar region head, they said.
Bhoi was arrested Sunday and will be produced before the designated court under the Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, 2011, in Baleshwar.
According to the complaint, the then branch manager in connivance with other bank employees, fraudulently sanctioned and disbursed 100 gold loans amounting to Rs 2.12 crore against spurious/fake gold ornaments and without any proper documentation between June 2023 and June 2024, an EOW officer said.
Of the 100 gold loan accounts, 23 have been closed, while 76 accounts remain outstanding. The total outstanding amount in the 76 active accounts as of August 18, 2026, is Rs 1.97 crore, he said.
During the investigation, the EOW found that the accused deliberately sanctioned the loan amounts and credited them to the respective borrowers’ accounts without their knowledge or consent. Subsequently, he transferred the funds to other bank accounts, the officer said.
The amounts were ultimately diverted to accounts linked to the accused and his associates, thereby facilitating misappropriation of the entire loan proceeds and an attempt to conceal the actual money trail, he added.
