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Homes for health tourists racket
Council crackdown sees police raid flats illegally let out to Kuwaiti’s seeking medical care
THE council has clawed back thousands of pounds from benefit cheats in Paddington who advertised their council flats to unsuspecting Kuwaiti “health tourists” for short-term lets while continuing to claim state benefits.
The racket, which involved a number of flats in Park West, off Edgware Road, was smashed in September following a series of raids by police and the council’s fraud squad.
Tenants collected housing benefits while living with partners who they told the housing office they were no longer in contact with.
The scam cost tax payers £90,000 and worked by tapping into the lucrative market of wealthy Kuwaitis who come to London because of its reputation as the world’s leading private healthcare provider.
A promise of a short-let flat – spread by word of mouth in Kuwait – is too good to be true for the tourists who are oblivious as they become a front for the fraudsters’ scam. Cabinet member for finance Councillor Colin Barrow, said: “We will not stand for fraud in Westminster and as soon as we detect it we will do everything in our power to stamp it out.
“As well as stealing from everyone who pays council tax in the borough, any claimants illegally sub-letting their flats are taking funds away from those in genuine need. We will work tirelessly to ensure that those trying to beat the system do not get away with it.
“We do not have any evidence that this problem is widespread in Westminster but the council will always investigate any allegations immediately and take appropriate action.”
The phenomenon of Kuwaiti health tourism is sustained by the country’s government which give visitors an allowance for going abroad for their treatment.
Westminster council is working closely with the British embassy in Kuwait to deter health tourists from getting caught up in any potential benefit fraud.
Over the next year, leaflets printed in Arabic and English will be handed to any Kuwaiti visa applicants coming to the UK for medical treatment.
The council’s fraud team will be able to check their prospective addresses in Westminster before they arrive. |
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