Melbourne, Dec. 6: Indian kidney racket kingpin, Dr Amit Kumar, who allegedly made millions through his illegal clinics, had reportedly used his money to buy property in the north of Melbourne.
According to The Age, Indian authorities said that Amit Kumar bought semi-rural plot in Sunbury in 2006. They also believed it was bought to launder cash from his illegal transplant clinic and that his assets will now be held by Australian authorities on behalf of the Indian government.
“We are in the process of attaching Kumar’s Australian assets,” the paper quoted a source as saying.
Kumar’s undeveloped plot at 5 Grand Ridge Way, which sits on the edge of a hilly housing development in Sunbury, is valued at around Australian $6,00,000, it said, adding he also has a bank account and a mortgage in Australia.
Kumar, dubbed as “Dr Horror”, is believed to have visited the country before his arrest in 2008. The doctor’s illegal clinic duped poor labourers mostly from Uttar Pradesh into selling their kidneys which were then transplanted into foreign clients.
Australian kidney recipients are also believed to be among his overseas customers, and his assets in Victoria suggest he had contacts there. The paper said while Indian investigators have not yet found clear evidence of this, they said it “may be one of the reasons” behind Kumar’s Australian investments.