Kerala health-worker accused of defaulting Kuwait loan sells fish for a living

While the healthcare professionals in Kerala have been accused of criminal breach of trust and cheating by the Kuwait-based bank following a loan default worth crores, some of the defaulters Onmanorama spoke to said that they defaulted on payment because they couldn't return to Kuwait or had sought relief from the bank earlier.

Biju Moonjely Joseph, one of the accused in the case worked as an X-ray technician in Kuwait with the Ministry of Health. He said that he took the loan around 2015-16 and had promptly paid the instalments till he was forced to return to Kerala in 2020 due to the spread of Covid.

"I came back on leave in 2020. There was a travel ban and I couldn't return. My visa had a validity of six months then. However with the travel ban being extended, my visa expired. I got in touch with the authorities and I was told that I had to start from scratch. All these years I tried doing all jobs to make a living. I recently sold my house to clear debts. I can't pay back this sum, I am helpless. I am not denying the fact that I took the loan," said Biju who now sells fish for a living. He lives in Ernakulam.

He said that he never wanted to cheat the bank. "It was a dream job for me, and it paid around Rs 1.75 lakh a month in Kuwait. When I took the loan, I thought I could repay the amount since I had a decent salary. Now I can barely make a living with this job selling fish," said Biju.

Rita Shibu, against whom a case has been registered returned to Kerala after resigning her job as a nurse.

She said that even in October she had spoken to the bank authorities on arriving at a final settlement. "I quit the job because of severe back pain. I had promptly communicated to the bank regarding repayment of loan. After returning home, I haven't been working. Even then I had repaid the money in instalments. I didn't keep track of the actual outstanding sum. In October, I got in touch with the bank representative and said that a final settlement needed to be arranged. Then they told me that a decision will be taken and communicated. Now I hear that a case has been registered. I contacted them again and they said that stringent action is being taken against all defaulters," said Rita who said that she was shocked to find her name in a case of cheating.

According to officials, all the people against whom cases have been registered are presently in Kerala. However, there are instances where the nurses and other people employed in the health sector in Kuwait allegedly availed huge loan amounts and moved to other countries in Europe.

The bank has a list of over 1,400 defaulters, and cases have been registered against 10 defaulters. The husband of one of the accused is a civil police officer with Kerala police, said Thomas J Anakkallunkal, the advocate associated with the Gulf Bank. Onmanorama tried to contact other persons accused of cheating, but they didn't respond.