Gold theft linked to gambling results in arrest

• A Bengaluru, India, senior-level bank employee is a prime suspect in a 3 kg gold theft case
• The suspect's arrest follows an investigation that uncovered a significant number of gold ornaments from customers' lockers and packets were missing
• Nearly 1.2 kg of the stolen gold was already recovered, investigation continues

A senior-level bank employee is accused of stealing nearly 3 kg of gold from customer lockers, pawning the items for money and using it to fund gambling activities.

That's the case for a 34-year-old assistant manager, who allegedly spent money on betting and online casino games after stealing gold ornaments from customers.

Nearly 3 kg of gold is missing

As announced by the local media outlet, News Karnataka, an assistant manager at a nationalized bank branch in Bengaluru, India, was recently arrested on suspicion of stealing a significant number of gold ornaments belonging to customers.

While an investigation is ongoing, what's known so far is that more than 2.7 kg of gold ornaments from pledged gold packets and lockers went missing.

Police suspect the 34-year-old assistant manager, who they say abused his authority.

Allegedly, the assistant manager was able to steal small quantities of gold ornaments.

According to law enforcement, an investigation uncovered that gold ornaments were partially missing from 21 customers' packets.

What's more, all gold ornaments were missing from three other packets, the investigation uncovered.

So far, law enforcement has identified approximately 2,783 grams of gold missing.

The aforementioned gold is valued at Rs 4 crore, or approximately $440,000.

The suspect is yet to face charges

Per the recent report, the 34-year-old assistant manager was arrested after an investigation was initiated in January.

The probe was prompted by customers' complaints about missing gold from their lockers and packets.

Allegedly, the suspect admitted to stealing the gold ornaments, however, charges against him are yet to be made public.

According to police, the 34-year-old man pawned the stolen gold ornaments for money and used the funds for betting and online casino games.

After identifying the suspect, law enforcement looked into his bank accounts, including gambling platform transactions, to determine how the money was spent.

Reportedly, out of the 2.7 kg of missing gold ornaments, close to 1.2 kg has already been recovered.

Police are also trying to recover the remaining gold from pawn shops.

The case raised concerns about the internal controls of the bank and the policies for handling customers' lockers.

Usually, such actions require a two-person identification; however, according to law enforcement, the suspect identified gaps in the processes that enabled him to gain access to the gold ornaments and steal them.

Still, the crime is worrying, considering the quantity of gold the assistant manager allegedly stole before the theft was noticed.

Image credit: Pixabay.com