Kuwaiti banks chase Indian nurses over loan defaults
Eight police stations in Kerala’s Ernakulam area have filed fraud cases against healthcare professionals over multimillion-rupee loan scams involving Kuwaiti banks.
• Sources said agencies helped nurses secure jobs and loans, with repayments deducted from salaries. Over six years, similar fraud cases involving Keralites have surfaced in United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman, totaling hundreds.
According to The Hindu, multiple complaints have been filed at police stations across the Ernakulam region in the Indian state of Kerala over allegations of loan defaults by nurses working in Kuwait. The report, cited by Al Anba, highlights disputes involving loans taken from local banks.
The Indian-based newspaper reported that additional cases have been filed in other parts of Kerala following complaints by affected Kuwaiti banks to police stations in the Thiruvananthapuram region.
It further stated that eight police departments in the Ernakulam area have registered cases against several individuals, most of them healthcare professionals, on charges of fraudulently obtaining loans worth millions of rupees from various banks in Kuwait.
According to sources, more cases have been reported across the state based on complaints from the affected Kuwaiti banks. Initial information reports have been filed at police stations in Kalamaseri, Kaladi, Kodanad, Muvatumpuzha, Nagarcoil, and others.
Complaints have been filed under Section 188 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which addresses crimes committed by Indians abroad.
Sources close to the banks stated that agencies initially helped the nurses secure jobs and facilitated their access to loans. These agencies provided opportunities for individuals in the nursing sector, who consistently repaid their loans through salary deductions.
The sources added that once the nurses’ creditworthiness improved, they became eligible for independent loans. The total amount received through bank loans was estimated at three crore rupees which is equivalent to ten million rupees.
The newspaper also highlighted that, over the past six years, similar cases of alleged fraud by Indian citizens from Kerala have been reported in other Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman. It was revealed that the number of such alleged scams reaches into the hundreds. While some individuals reportedly returned to Kerala, sources claimed that others fled to Europe and countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
