The Ministry of Home Affairs has launched a probe into a major loan scam involving 1,425 Malayalis who borrowed from Kuwait’s Gulf Bank and then absconded without repaying. The total amount owed is approximately 700 crore. The ministry has requested detailed information about the individuals involved. Gulf Bank officials, who are expected to visit Kerala soon, have agreed to provide further details after internal discussions. The central government has already gathered information on ten police-registered cases related to this scam.
This fraud was exposed when Gulf Bank’s Deputy General Manager filed a complaint with Kerala’s Additional Director General of Police (ADGP). Investigations have revealed that most of the defaulters are Malayali nurses, with around 700 nurses implicated. After securing large loans, many of these individuals reportedly migrated to countries like the United States, Canada, the UK, or returned to Kerala. The scam occurred between 2020 and 2022 and included not only nurses but also Malayali government employees in Kuwait.
The defaulters used a strategy of initially taking out small loans and repaying them to boost their credit scores, which allowed them to later borrow larger sums ranging from 50 lakh to over 2 crore. Once they obtained the larger loans, they disappeared. Gulf Bank officials began their investigation when repayment delays became apparent, prompting collaboration with Indian authorities to address the fraud and recover the funds.
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