I am facing an issue which seems to be some scam from one of the banks in Kuwait. However, I am not sure of it thoroughly.

My wife recently applied for a bank loan from the bank through an agent from same bank. He informed my wife that the bank will provide a loan 20 times her salary.

My wife is a registered nurse and works in Kuwait Oil Company as supply staff.

Even after 2 weeks of providing the documents and authorization, the bank didn’t process the bank loan and when I enquired the agent informed me that the loan will only be processed after her salary is credited in the the bank account. Later when the loan amount was not credited even after the salary was credited, my wife enquired from the agent and the agent informed her that the amount will be credited on the same day.

However, the amount was not credited and later on inquiry, the agent informed her that there was another paper which had to be signed by her and added that this paper willl authorize the bank to transfer the loan amount to any Indian bank account. However, it was never disclosed to the agent or the bank that the loan amount which we have requested is for sending to India. Now, the agent is saying that my wife has to send a percentage of money (he is not sure about the correct percentage) to India through the bank.

Not only does the bank provide poor conversion rate compared to any local money exchange service like Dollarco or Lulu money, but my wife’s need for the money also is not for sending to any native bank account. When I informed the agent that I will not be sending the amount to India, he informed me that the bank will not provide 20 times the salary if I don’t send the money to India.

I believe there is a discrepancy somewhere. Either the agent is trying to make money or commission out of the unwanted money transfer procedure through the bank or the bank is looting expatriates of their money by simply giving poor exchange rates and forcing their to use their services in lieu of loans.

With this concern, I request you to help me know how I should tackle the issue. What will be the correct procedure to avail loan without getting issues like this? Whom should I approach at the bank to get the correct information on the procedure?

Name withheld

Answer: This is not a labour issue but strictly a financial one. We therefore advise that you book an appointment with any of the relationship officers of the branch where you opened your account or any other branch and seek clarification on the issues raised above. If you don’t get answers that are satisfactory to you, you can go a step further by speaking to the manager of the branch.

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