Kuwait Nurses Recruitment Scam: Firm under ED radar for charging Rs 20 lakh from each candidate

New Delhi: Directorate of Enforcement (ED) carried out several searches in Maharashtra and Kerala on Thursday and Friday as part of a money laundering investigation in a case linked to alleged cheating in the recruitment of Indian nurses for the Kuwait government

The raids were launched on Thursday on the residential premises of Puthenveettil Joseph Mathew alias P J Mathew, proprietor of Mumbai-based Mathew International and multiple other business and residential premises located in the two states.

The ED case, filed under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), stems from a CBI FIR that was registered in connection with “illegally and dishonestly collecting crores of rupees from emigrants by indulging in criminal activity”, the agency said in a statement.

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P J Mathew, along with his son Thomas Mathew alias Tom Mathew, hatched a criminal conspiracy with Mahmood Naina Prabhu, proprietor of Munavarra Associates located in Mumbai in 2015 to recruit nurses for Kuwait’s Ministry of Health by using the license “fraudulently” obtained by the latter company (Munavarra Associates) from the Indian government.

It alleged that P J Mathew obtained demand and authorisation letters from Jezan International and Al-Amar Company, Kuwait in the name of Munavvara Associates for the recruitment of these nurses.

Adolphus, the then Protector of Emigrants, Kochi also joined the conspiracy, the ED alleged, adding the accused conducted the recruitment of nurses at Kochi by collecting exorbitant service charges (to the tune of approximately Rs 20 lakh) from each candidate as against the maximum prescribed limit of Rs 20,000, PTI reports.

PJ Mathew and his associates, the ED said, thereby “cheated” the nursing emigrants and derived proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 205.71 crore. During the searches, several bank accounts having a cumulative balance of Rs 76 lakh have been frozen and documents of immovable properties with a total market value of Rs 12 crore have been seized, the agency said.

Further investigation is under process.

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