Mumbai News: Fraudulent Gold Valuer Strikes Again; BOI Gold Loan Scam Probe Reveals Shocking Details

Mumbai: Sapna Bhatt, a fraudulent gold valuer, is back to her old ways, a complaint filed against her at the Oshiwara police station has revealed. The complaint alleges her collaboration with a customer to deceive Bank of India. The customer took a loan of Rs 5.62 lakh against gold, which later turned out to be fake.

Bhatt, nearly 60 years old, is a resident of Mira Road. There are several cases registered against her for committing fraud as a gold valuer. Multiple cases were filed against her in 2021-2022. Seven customers had taken gold loans amounting to Rs 53 lakh from Model Co-op Bank but their valuables turned out to be fake.

Senior police inspector Manoj Patil from the Oshiwara police said, “Multiple cases have been filed against Sapna Bhatt at various police stations – Malad, Kasturba and Kandivali – for similar crimes."

The Malad police had arrested her in January 2023 but she is now out.

Jeweller Association Spokesperson Expresses Concern Over Matter

Kumar Jain, the national spokesperson of the India Bullion and Jewellers Association, said, “The income-tax office grants two-year permission to individuals to become gold valuers. In case of a complaint, the person is no longer permitted to engage in gold valuation work. If Bhatt was previously arrested for allegedly deceiving a bank and the latter is aware of the situation, she should not have been allowed to continue.”

"What’s disconcerting, though, is how can someone facing legal action continue to be listed with banks," Jain added. The FPJ attempted to contact the manager of Bank of India’s Jogeshwari West Branch but received no response.