Kuwait bank alleges Rs700cr loan default by over 1,400 Keralites, mostly nurses

Published: 11 December 2024

Press Trust of India
New Delhi

A prominent Kuwait-based bank has lodged complaints in various police stations in Kerala alleging that over 1,400 people from the state, mostly nurses, had defaulted on substantial loans they had taken while working in the Gulf nation, totalling about Rs700 crore.

As the majority of the defaulters had returned to their home state or migrated to other foreign countries, the Gulf Bank KSCP (Kuwait Shareholding Company Public) recently lodged complaints with the Kerala police, following which 10 FIRs have been registered in the state, based on the complaint of Mohammed Abdul Vassey Kamran, the Deputy General Manager of the bank, police sources told Press Trust of India.

Advocate Thomas J Anakkallunkal, who provides legal assistance to the bank in the state, called it “mass cheating” and said each defaulter had availed loans between Rs 75 lakhs and one crore from the institution.

The bank was defrauded of around Rs 700 crore by over 1,400 people, he said quoting figures.
“The majority of them had taken loans during the Covid-19 period. The defaulters, a majority of them nurses, worked in various government hospitals in Kuwait, and they could take loans by producing their salary certificates,” he told PTI.

He said initially, they would take small loans and repay them without any default and thus gain the trust of the bank authorities.

Over 1,400 people from Kerala had availed loans and defaulted on them in this particular bank alone, he claimed.

The Kuwait bank authorities have taken up the matter with the Indian Home Department which considers the issue very seriously.

“As their passport details and home addresses were with the bank, it was not difficult for us to trace the accused in the state and lodged the complaint,” he said.

According to police sources, some defaulters have expressed readiness to repay the amount.