Police have apprehended an employee of the gold jewellery pawning section of a private financial institution in Badulla who is accused of cheating over Rs.

19.6 million by replacing real gold jewellery with imitation jewellery.Following an investigation carried out by the Special Crime Unit of the Badulla Police Division, the employee of the gold pawning section of a private financial institution in Badulla was arrested.Police have launched an investigation into the incident following a complaint lodged by the said financial institution’s manager.Police stated that following the interrogation of the suspect, officers recovered 41 imitation gold jewellery items including necklaces, rings, bracelets, and pendants which were found in the suspect’s possession.The suspect had allegedly used these imitation items to issue fraudulent documents when clients pawned genuine gold jewellery at the relevant financial institution.It has been further revealed that the suspect has purchased imitation jewellery online and substituted them with the pawned gold jewellery items, which he in turn had pawned himself.It has also been revealed that the suspect himself has paid the interest related to the pawned jewelery in the name of their owners.