The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted search operations at various locations, including Kerala, in connection with the nursing recruitment scam. The ED said in a tweet on Friday night that search operations were held on Thursday and Friday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at the residential premises of Puthenveettil Joseph Mathew, also known as PJ Mathew, who is the proprietor of M/s. Mathew International in Mumbai, as well as other premises located in Mumbai and Kerala, in relation to the nursing recruitment scam.
During the search, several bank accounts with a total balance of Rs 76 lakh were frozen and documents of immovable properties with a total market value of Rs 12 crore were seized, the agency said in a tweet.
The ED’s case, under various sections of the PMLA, was registered based on the FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The CBI had registered the FIR in connection with a case involving the illegal collection of crores of rupees from emigrants in 2015.