Directorate of Enforcement (ED) carried out a multi-state search operation in accordance with the PMLA, 2002 at Puthenveettil Joseph Mathew’s home at P.J. Mathew, Proprietor, M/s. Mathew International, Mumbai, as well as numerous other commercial and residential locations in Mumbai and Kerala, in relation to the illegally and dishonestly collecting millions of rupees from emigrants through criminal activity.
On the basis of the FIR filed by the CBI, Cochin against Puthenveettil Joseph Mathew and others, ED began an inquiry into money laundering under the PMLA, 2002.
According to an investigation by the ED, Puthenveettil Joseph Mathew, also known as P.J. Mathew, and his son Thomas Mathew, also known as Tom Mathew, planned a criminal conspiracy in 2015 to hire nurses for the Ministry of Health in Kuwait by using a licence that M/s. Munavarra Associates had fraudulently obtained from the Government of India.
Additionally, as part of the conspiracy, P.J. Mathew received authorization letters and demand letters for the hiring of nurses for the Kuwaiti Ministry of Health from Jezan International and Al-Amar Company in Kuwait under the name of M/s. Munavvara Associates, Mumbai. Adolphus Cochin, the Protector of Emigrants at the time, also joined the plot. Then, in contrast to the maximum permitted limit of Rs. 20,000/-, they performed the aforementioned recruitment of nurses in Cochin while demanding outrageous service fees from each applicant. P.J. Mathew and his friends defrauded the nursing immigrants in this way, earning a total of Rs. 205.71 Crore from the profits of the crime.
Many bank accounts with a combined balance of Rs. 76 Lakhs have been frozen during the searches, and records for immovable assets with a total market value of Rs. 12 Crore have been confiscated. Further research is now being conducted.
