MULTAN — A bank locker that was supposed to keep valuables safe has become the centre of a mystery in Multan after 80 tolas of gold were reportedly found missing. The Allied Bank locker was eventually opened after a key-related problem, only for it to be found empty, prompting a police investigation and raising questions over when and how the gold disappeared.
The incident was reported at the Allied Bank branch on Bosan Road on Monday. Police became involved after the complainant contacted Emergency Helpline 15, following the discovery that the locker was empty. Police have since recorded statements from the complainant and bank staff, while a formal complaint was submitted at BZ Police Station.
According to the reports, the trouble began when the locker could not be opened normally. The bank called in a technician; the lock was broken open and the locker was found empty.
The complainant first attempted to open the locker on Thursday. Other reports say the key stopped working several days earlier and that the complainant returned on Monday, when the locker was eventually opened and found empty.
The reports do not state the monetary value of the missing gold. As per latest gold price, the estimated value of missing gold is said to be around Rs3.5-4 Crore.
Multan incident is likely to attract scrutiny because it involves valuables reportedly kept inside a facility specifically designed to provide secure storage.
Allied Bank Cases
Multan case comes against the backdrop of several older incidents involving Allied Bank, although those cases span very different categories and should not automatically be treated as connected.
Allied Bank has also faced enforcement action from the State Bank. State Bank imposed a penalty of approximately Rs20.66 million for the quarter ending June 2023 over issues involving customer due diligence/KYC, foreign-exchange matters and general banking operations. A further Rs16.578 million penalty followed for the quarter ending September 2023 over general banking operations.
Allied Bank mobile app, internet banking hit by major outage across Pakistan: reports
Customer fraud disputes
Allied Bank has also faced customer disputes involving alleged fraud. In one set of cases, the President rejected five ABL representations against Banking Mohtasib decisions and ordered the bank to return Rs4,049,742 to affected customers. The cases involved fraudsters allegedly posing as bank employees.
Separately, in July 2026, a customer accused ABL of repeatedly failing to comply with Banking Mohtasib orders concerning a Rs250,000 withdrawal allegedly made through a forged cheque.
Allied Bank ABL fined Rs20 million over regulatory violations
Pension litigation
Allied Bank has also been involved in a long-running pension dispute. In January 2020, the Supreme Court dismissed ABL’s appeal against a Peshawar High Court ruling concerning frozen pensions, with reports saying the matter affected around 6,000 employees.
Supreme Court fined an Allied Bank president over failure to attend a hearing connected with the pension case. That particular claim could not be independently confirmed from a primary source.
