The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is conducting an investigation in Mumbai and Kerala into a money-laundering case linked to recruitment firms. They are accused of duping 900 nurses who aspired to secure jobs in Kuwait. The money was later sent out of India illegally.
The recruitment firms allegedly collected a staggering INR 205 crore from those nurses by imposing excessive service fees. The fee ranged from INR 18.5 lakh to INR 20 lakh, which was higher than the required fee of INR 20,000. This left numerous aspiring nurses in distress.
These firms are believed to have acquired licence from the government of India. Further, they manipulated connections with Kuwaiti entities. They did so to obtain demand letters and authorization letters for recruitment from Kuwait. They received letters for the Kuwaiti Ministry of Health from Jezan International and Al-Amar Company, two global firms.
It is also revealed that hawala operators were used to channel a significant portion of the ill-gotten money out of India. This route, often used for money laundering, has become a focal point of the ED's inquiry.
Recent search operations conducted by the ED in Mumbai and Kerala have also found evidence. They discovered multiple bank accounts and immovable properties connected to the accused firms. The ED froze bank accounts containing a total of INR 76 lakh. The ED also seized properties with a market value of INR 12 crore.
The case dates back to 2015, when the Income Tax Department seized a substantial amount of INR 4.55 crore in cash from the premises of these firms. This incident ultimately led to the involvement of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the current investigation by the ED.
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