An employee of a private financial institution's gold jewellery pawning section has been arrested for allegedly defrauding the institution of over Rs. 19.6 million by replacing real gold jewellery with imitation items.

The Special Crime Unit of the Badulla Police Division arrested the suspect following a complaint lodged by the institution’s manager. During the investigation, police recovered 41 imitation gold items, including necklaces, rings, bracelets, and pendants from the suspect's possession.

The suspect reportedly purchased imitation jewellery online and used it to issue fraudulent documents when clients pawned genuine gold items and he pawned the real gold jewellery himself and paid the related interest in the name of the original owners.

Police are continuing their investigation into the incident.