Portugal health minister quits after pregnant Indian woman dies; probe ordered
Lisbon(PTI): The tragic death of a pregnant Indian woman in Portugal while being shifted between crisis-hit hospitals here has led to the resignation of the country's health minister Marta Temido while authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.
The 34-year-old Indian woman reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest during an ambulance transfer from Santa Maria hospital, which had no vacancies in the neonatology service, to another hospital in the capital.
It follows a string of incidents this summer that critics blame on a staffing crisis across Portuguese natal units, the BBC reported on Wednesday.
Temido had been the health minister since 2018, and is credited with steering Portugal through the Covid-19 pandemic.
But on Tuesday, the government said in a statement that Temido had "realised that she no longer had the conditions to remain in office".
Portugal's Prime Minister Antonio Costa said the woman's death was "the last straw" that led to Temido's resignation, the report quoted Portugal's Lusa news agency as saying.
I am grateful for all the work carried out by Dr. Marta Temido, especially in the exceptional period of combating the COVID19 pandemic. The @govpt continue the ongoing reforms with a view to strengthening the SNS and improving healthcare provided to the Portuguese, Costa, an Indian-origin leader, said in a tweet.
His remarks came after a storm of criticism over the Portuguese government's handling of staff shortages in maternity units, by temporarily closing some of them and forcing pregnant women to undergo risky transfers between hospitals.
Local media reported that the pregnant tourist died while being moved from Lisbon's Santa Maria Hospital - the largest in Portugal - because its neonatology unit was full.
Her baby was delivered in good health following an emergency caesarean section, authorities said. An investigation into the woman's death has been launched, the report said.
There have been similar incidents across Portugal in recent months - including the separate deaths of two infants whose mothers had apparently been transferred between hospitals and endured long delays, it said.
Portugal's shortage of health staff, especially those specialising in gynaecology and obstetrics, has led to the government considering hiring from abroad.
The closure of some natal units has led to overflowing maternity wards and long wait times, with opposition parties, doctors and nurses pointing blame at the former health minister.
Speaking to local outlet RTP, the chair of the Portuguese doctors association Miguel Guimaraes said Temido quit because she did not have any way of resolving the current crisis - before going on to praise her record in office.
However, Gustavo Tato Borges, the president of Portugal's public health association, told RTP he did not expect her resignation, and was "surprised" that she had stepped down while there are "acute problems" in the health sector.
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ED arrests Sandeepa Virk, 'cosmetologist' for alleged money laundering
New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate said on Wednesday it has arrested a woman, who claims to be an actor and a cosmetologist, under the anti-money laundering law in a case of alleged fraud and misrepresentation.
The agency said the purported links of the woman, Sandeepa Virk, with a Reliance Group executive, Angarai Natarajan Sethuraman (President, Corporate Affairs), are also under its scanner. Sethuraman, in a statement, denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Virk was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Tuesday after searches were conducted against her and her associates in Delhi and Mumbai over the last two days.
A special court sent her to the ED's custody till August 14, the agency said. The woman claims to be the owner of a skin care products selling website named hyboocare.com, which the ED claimed was a "front" for money laundering.
She and her associates are being probed for allegedly exerting undue influence through "misrepresentation" and "defrauding" individuals by soliciting money under false pretences.
According to an Instagram ID of Virk, she is an actor and entrepreneur and the founder of the said website.
The federal agency said in a statement that the woman was also "in touch with" Sethuraman, former director of erstwhile Reliance Capital Limited.
She was communicating with him regarding "illegal liaisoning", the ED claimed, adding that the searches at Sethuraman's residence "confirmed" these allegations.
"Besides, diversion of funds for personal benefit has also been unearthed during the course of the search action," it said.
The ED alleged that public money worth about Rs 18 crore belonging to Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL) was disbursed to Sethuraman in 2018 by "flouting" prudent lending norms.
The funds were lent under terms that allowed a deferment of the principal amount as well as the interest, with multiple waivers granted and no due diligence conducted, it said.
The ED claimed that besides this, a home loan of Rs 22 crore was provided by Reliance Capital Limited by "violating" the prudential norms. "A large part of these loans are seen to have been eventually siphoned off and remained unpaid," it alleged.
Sethuraman, in a statement, dismissed the allegations as "baseless". He denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Detailing about Virk's web portal, the agency said it purportedly sold FDA-approved beauty products. However, the ED said the products listed on the website have been found to be non-existent and the portal lacks a user registration option and is plagued by persistent payment gateway issues.
A scrutiny of the website uncovered minimal social-media engagement, an inactive WhatsApp contact number and an absence of transparent organisational details, all of which reinforce the finding of "non-genuine" commercial activity, the ED claimed.
"These factors, including limited product range, inflated pricing, false claims of FDA approval and technical inconsistencies, indicate that the website serves as a front for laundering funds," it said.
Another social media-hosted bio data of the woman said she is a certified cosmetologist.
The ED said several "incriminating" documents were seized during the searches and the statement of a man named Farrukh Ali, stated to be an associate of Virk, was recorded.
The money-laundering case stems from an FIR lodged by the Punjab Police.
Sethuraman said that the home loan he received from Reliance Capital was granted following due process and was secured by the property offered as collateral.
