KOCHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday attached properties of PJ Mathew, proprietor of Mathew International, which was involved in the recruitment of nurses for positions in Kuwait by charging exorbitant fees.
The ED attached properties worth Rs 7.51 crore of Mathew and his relatives Celine Mathew and Thomas Mathew, officials said.
The case was first registered by the CBI in 2015 against private overseas employment agencies for recruiting nurses to Kuwait charging around Rs 20 lakh from each individual while norms suggested not to charge above Rs 19,000. L Adolphus, Protector of Emigrants, Kochi was accused in multiple cases registered against various agencies including Mathew International. After the CBI filed a chargesheet in the case, the ED registered another case for money laundering in 2018.
"It is revealed that PJ Mathew with the help of others recruited more than 900 nurses who were to be employed in Kuwait by charging exorbitant service charge ranging from Rs 18.5 lakhs to Rs 20 lakhs from each of the applicants. The investigation revealed that Mathew International illegally collected Rs 205.71 crores," an ED official said.
The attached properties include a duplex apartment in Kadavanthara Kochi, a plot of land in Mumbai, another two cents of land in Ambalapuzha, Alappuzha, a luxury car and Rs 4.55 crore, which were seized by the Income Tax Department in a raid held at Mathew International entities in 2015.
The ED had found that money collected from illegal nursing recruitment was sent abroad via hawala channels through an agency named Ideal Forex owned by Mohammad Aslam at Penta Menaka shopping complex in Kochi. In a raid conducted in 2018, the ED seized Rs 24.9 lakh worth currencies of 19 countries and Rs 6.4 lakh worth Indian currency.