Overview

• FIRs were registered in recent days across Kottayam and Ernakulam, including stations at Kuravilangad, Ayarkunnam, Velloor, Kaduthuruthy, Vaikom, Thalayolaparambu, Puthencruz, Pothanikad, Varappuzha and Angamaly.
• The loans were taken between 2019 and 2021 while the accused worked under Kuwait’s Ministry of Health, with individual exposures of roughly ₹61 lakh to ₹91 lakh and a total of ₹10.33 crore.
• The accused have been booked for cheating under Section 420 of the IPC, and the bank’s representatives say they will pursue BNS Section 208 to apply Indian law to alleged offences committed overseas.
• Kerala’s Crime Branch has taken up the probe, and the bank’s representative says lookout notices will follow, with arrests planned if the accused return; many are now working in Europe, the United States and Australia.
• Al Ahli Bank’s complaint also cites about 806 alleged defaulters with losses estimated near ₹270 crore, following a similar Gulf Bank case in December 2024 that produced 10 FIRs and saw anticipatory bail pleas dismissed.