ED’s massive crackdown on Ayushman Bharat scheme fraud
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched a series of searches at 20 locations spanning Delhi, Chandigarh, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh as part of an investigation into the alleged fabrication of Ayushman Bharat AB-PMJAY ID cards and related violations by multiple hospitals. These operations were conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The ED’s actions targeted various premises linked to the case, aiming to gather evidence regarding financial irregularities and potential money laundering activities connected to the fraudulent issuance of health cards under the government’s flagship healthcare scheme.
Authorities have intensified efforts to uncover the extent of the alleged fraud and ensure accountability for those involved.
ED conducted searches across Himachal Pradesh in districts including Kangra, Una, Shimla, Mandi, and Kullu.
According to an ED press release, the searches targeted Shree Banke Bihari Hospital, Fortis Hospital Himachal Healthcare Private Ltd, City Super Specialty Hospital, Shri Balaji Hospital, Shri Harihar Hospital, Sood Nursing Home, Neelkanth Hospital, and key management personnel Dr. Vijender Minhas, Raghubir Singh Bali, Dr. Pradeep Makkar, Dr. Rajesh Sharma, Manish Bhatia, Dr. Manoj Sood, and Dr. Hemant Kumar, respectively.
The ED’s investigation was initiated based on an FIR filed by the State Vigilance & Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV & ACB), Una, under various sections of the IPC, 1860. The FIR implicated Kiran Soni, Shree Banke Bihari Hospital, Una, and others for allegedly creating fake AB-PMJAY ID cards.
The ED investigation revealed that Shri Balaji Hospital, Sood Nursing Home, Fortis Hospital, and Sri Harihar Hospital, etc. availed benefits of the AB-PMJAY scheme.
During the investigation, as many as 373 fake Ayushman cards have been identified wherein claims of about Rs.40.68 lakh (approx) were made for reimbursement from the government in the name of treatments given to the said Ayushman Card beneficiaries, the ED release said.
The list of such fake beneficiaries included the names of Rajnish Kumar (ABPMJAY Card No. PPKZU26H7) and Pooja Dhiman (ABPMJAY Card No. PICHWGI08), who on verification, even denied possession or any information of any such PMJAY Card.
The ED says that “they never underwent any such treatment in any of these hospitals. Apart from this, hospitals have made claims for treatments/ surgery/ admission which were actually never given/ done to the patient”.
“Raksha Devi (having PMJAY ID- PLOE81RR2Q) was denied admission to the hospital, however, the hospital dishonestly and illegally blocked the package of Raksha Devi. The investigation also revealed that these hospitals were de-impaneled from the Ayushman Bharat scheme for illegal practices and non-compliance with procedures/ guidelines. 8937 Ayushman Bharat golden cards have so far been scrapped in HP for alleged violation of the AB-PMJAY scheme. As per investigation conducted so far, the case involves Proceeds of Crime (PoC) of about Rs.25 crore.”
The ED’s searches uncovered Rs.88 lakh in cash, four bank lockers, and 140 bank accounts. They seized 16 digital devices holding data on health schemes like AB-PMJAY and Himcare, alongside property documents. Documents revealed suspicious transactions totaling Rs.21 crore for 23,000 patients. Searches exposed mismatches between claims submitted and actual patient data, noting files missing from hospital records.
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these unscrupulous elements should be punished severely atleast 10 years jail term. Hospitals should be derecognised.
Allah O Akbar….. happy to read such rightful actions by govt. Hope the fake rackets gets its punishment. Give incentives to ED & Police & CID for successful closures in courts & punishment is given by court, some bonus or higher increments…etc..