'Will not contribute funds to politicians any more,' NRI businessman KG Abraham on CMDRF loot

Kochi: Renowned NRI businessman KG Abraham lashed out at the Kerala government on Friday after the Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau (VACB) unearthed many instances of loot from the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF).

Abraham said that the relief fund did not reach the deserving candidates and that he regretted voting for the Left Democratic Front (LDF).

"I will not give anything to politicians any more. Politicians are exploiting expatriates. The funds collected from them as flood relief has not reached deserving candidates. The investments made by Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) have no security. The decision to tax locked houses in Kerala is pure arrogance," he added.

KG Abraham, a businessman based in Kuwait, is the partner and managing director of NBTC group.

A Vigilance investigation has revealed that huge amounts are being pilfered from the CMDRF by an illegal nexus of government officials in district collectorates, doctors and private agents across Kerala.

The CMDRF, nourished mostly by public donations, is an emergency assistance scheme to provide relief for deserving families and individuals financially devastated by natural calamities or accidents or death of breadwinners, or serious diseases.

It has been found that certain private individuals, using their influence over officers in charge of the CMDRF section in district collectorates and with the aid of fake documents created with the help of corrupt government doctors, have been securing financial benefits for ineligible persons.

The documents submitted by these middlemen for the CMDRF relief - medical certificates and income certificates - were found forged.