DGHS aware of JKG Health Care scams

Surgeon Sabrina Arif Chaudhury told interrogators that she had warned the health directorate multiple times about corruptions in JKG as soon as she found out what was going on.

After two JKG employees were arrested on charges of forgery, Arif Chaudhury made a trade licence in a hurry at the suggestion of a top official of the Directorate General of Health Services to avoid further trouble, Sabrina told officers.

Police also learnt that a high government official lobbied for Sabrina to get JKG the job of collecting samples for coronavirus tests.

Oval Group, the company owned by Sabrina's husband Ariful, won several government contracts, including some from the health ministry, because of her lobbying, officers said.

Police are now going through Sabrina's activities on messaging apps in the last three years to learn more about her connection to influential people.

Cardiac surgeon Sabrina is the wife of JKG Health Care CEO Ariful Chaudhury. She was suspended by the health ministry for being the chairman of a private organisation without permission.

As her three-day remand ended yesterday, Sabrina stuck to her claim that it was her husband Ariful who was behind the fake coronavirus test reports, investigators told The Daily Star after questioning Sabrina and Ariful.

"Sabrina claimed that she informed several [DGHS] high officials including [additional director general] Nasima Sultana about the JKG corruptions," said an officer involved with the investigation.

Contacted, Prof Nasima said Sabrina never informed her about JKG's forged test reports. She added that her colleagues came to know from one source that JKG was taking money from people for test reports.

"Then, we informed it to an agency… Dr Sabrina once informed me that she was no longer with JKG after her relationship turned sour with her husband. She said her husband was a drug addict and used to beat her up. That's why she left JKG," Prof Nasima said.

Abdul Baten, additional commissioner (Detective Branch) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, yesterday told reporters that they made Sabrina and Ariful face each other and interrogated them about the fake coronavirus test reports. They blamed each other.

"We are investigating further into who the chairman of JKG is and find out who is really responsible for the fake reports and other irregularities," Baten said.

Besides, JKG made a hefty amount of money by providing telemedicine service. The investigators are also enquiring about it, he added.

JKG Health Care was formed in 2015 as a non-profit.

Investigators said that they didn't find any documents mentioning that JKG was a sister concern of the Oval Group, adding that JKG had no trade licence when it got the permission from DGHS.

DGHS official Prof Nasima earlier told this newspaper that they didn't check JKG's licence at that time since they gave them the permission only for voluntary services -- to set up booths and collect samples from them.

But it has been found in police investigation that the organisation started collecting samples from homes in exchange of money despite having no trade licence or the permission to do that. The samples collected from home were not tested at all.

One month after the coronavirus hit the country in March, JKG got the approval from DGHS on April 6 and started collecting samples for free through their 44 kiosks in Dhaka, Narayanganj and other places.

The scam was busted on June 24 after Tejgaon police arrested several employees of the Oval Group, including its CEO Ariful.

Police said more than 2,000 fake certificates were found in JKG's laptop.

Dr Sabrina also told investigators that Ariful sought permission for setting up a RT-PCR machine from the DGHS. The DGHS officials told him to set it up on his own.

Ariful later started making fake reports at a room in his office.

Golam Mostafa, deputy commissioner of DB's Tejgaon Division, said there are two main allegations in the case -- fraudulence and negligence.

Asked if they found any negligence on the DGHS's part, he said they are gathering information and evidence about it.

The DB official said they made a seven-day remand prayer to question Sabrina more.