The CBI has arrested the Protector of Emigrants, Kochi, Adolfus Lawrence, for allegedly facilitating the extortion of money from nurses recruited for Kuwait by a manpower recruitment agency.

Lawrence, who was questioned by the CBI for several days following the expose of the fraud, had allegedly received bribes from the Al Sarafa recruitment agency. Uthup Verghese, who ran the agency, had made over ₹200 crore in just about a year by recruiting nurses from whom he extorted large sums of money.

Verghese, who is the second accused in the CBI chargesheet, is absconding and is said to be living in Kuwait. Lawrence, who has been working in the Union Ministry of Labour, was the Protector of Emigrants in Kochi for sometime.

Verghese had been hired by the Kuwait Health Ministry for recruiting 1,200 nurses from Kerala. Though he was supposed to take ₹19,500 as service fee from each nurse, Verhgese had demanded and taken ₹19.5 lakhs from each. The Protector of Emigrants allegedly facilitated the fraud.

The CBI is also investigating another recruitment agency that had also committed massive fraud in nurses’ recruitment.

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