Kerala nurses defraud Rs 700 crore from a Kuwaiti bank.
The Deputy General Manager of Gulf Bank filed complaints against ten individuals who took out loans while employed by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and left the country without paying them back, leading to the registration of cases in Kerala.
Ankush Pandey
Before departing Kuwait, hundreds of Kerala nurses are accused of defrauding a bank there out of almost Rs 700 crore. The Gulf Bank provided large loans to 1,425 state nurses, who "wilfully" defaulted on their payments and left the state to migrate to Canada, Australia, and Europe.
Ten individuals who took out loans while employed by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and left the country without paying them back have been the subject of complaints filed by Kuwaiti national Mohammed Abdul Vassey, Deputy General Manager, Gulf Bank, which has led to the registration of cases in Kerala thus far.
"The majority of these nurses had taken out loans earlier and promptly repaid them, but when the demand for medical practitioners boomed in Europe, Australia, and Canada, they took out large loans from the bank and migrated to greener pastures, then they stopped the loan repayments," said Thomas J. Anakkallumkal, an advocate representing the bank in Kerala. The bank has identified 1,425 nurses from Kerala who were involved in the fraud, but Thomas said the bank was unable to take any further action because they were not in Kuwait.
After meeting with the state police chief upon his arrival in Kerala last month, Mohammed filed a complaint.
“Ten loan defaulters were identified by the company and are presently in Kerala. The police have registered FIRs against them. One of the nurses went back to Kerala and now works at a hospital there after buying a fancy flat in Kochi. We are in the process of identifying more nurses. More FIRs will follow,” Thomas said.
Police have filed cases against the following people: Robin Mathew of Nellimattom (Rs 63.24 lakh), Sindhya Alex of Varapuzha (Rs 70.07 lakh), Deepak Gopi of Nayarambalam (Rs 1.16 crore), Rita Shibu of Aimury (Rs 1.22 crore), Raghul Retheeshan of Muvattupuzha (Rs 1.21 crore), Delna Thankachan of Vadayampady (Rs 93.10 lakh), and Keerthimon of Kumarakom (Rs 1.10 crore).
Kerala Police started investigating, and the bank will provide details.
The Kalamassery, Njarackal, Varapauzha, Kaladay, Muvattupuzha, Onnukal, Kodanad, and Kumarakom police stations are where the cases are filed. The accused is charged under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.
The bank first sought legal advice from law firms regarding the possibility of taking action against defaulters in India since these individuals were not in Kuwait. According to a police officer, "Even though the frauds occurred in Kuwait, there are provisions to prosecute them in India under Indian law."
Police investigations have begun in the interim. It has been discovered that they have previously recorded the accused's statements in certain instances. The bank will shortly provide the police with additional information.
