Nurses’ recruitment fraud: ED scans role of hawala operators

The Enforcement Directorate's money-laundering investigation into a fraudulent collection of ₹205 crore from nurses for Kuwait jobs has revealed that a substantial part of the proceeds was sent abroad via hawala channels. The agency is now investigating the role of hawala operators in transferring the funds.

MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s money-laundering investigation related to the alleged fraudulent collection of ₹205 crore from nurses for Kuwait jobs by a few recruitment firms has revealed that a substantial part of the proceeds of crime was allegedly sent abroad via hawala channels by the accused firms/ persons.

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The agency, which carried out searches in Mumbai and Kerala recently as part of the probe, is scanning the role of a few hawala operators in transferring a part of the proceeds of crime abroad, sources said.

The agency suspects that the amount collected from the nursing emigrants, which is the proceeds of crime in the case, was sent to Kuwait by way of hawala transfer with the help of hawala operator/s whose roles are being verified, sources said.

A recruitment firm, which is under the probe’s scanner, had allegedly, with the help of others, recruited around 900 nurses who were to be employed in Kuwait, by charging exorbitant service charge, ranging from ₹18.5 lakh to ₹20 lakh from each of the applicants, which was in excess to the stipulated charges of ₹20,000, sources said.

The accused were involved in the alleged recruitment of nurses for the Ministry of Health, Kuwait, by using a license fraudulently obtained from the Government of India.

Subsequently, the accused Indian firms had allegedly obtained the demand letters and authorisation letters from two Kuwait-based firms, Jezan International and Al-Amar Company, for recruitment of nurses for the Ministry of Health, Kuwait, a source said. The role of a then protector of Emigrants, Cochin, has also been under the scanner in the case.

During its recent search operations, the ED found several bank accounts with a cumulative balance of ₹76 lakh, which were immediately frozen. Documents of immovable properties, with an estimated total market value of ₹12 crore, were seized as well.

The CBI probe was initiated in 2015 after one of the accused firms came under the scanner of the Income Tax Department, which had seized ₹4.55 crore cash from its premises in April-May 2015.