A Kuwaiti nabbed by law enforcers for possible links to the dreaded terror group Islamic State could be the same person who headed a cartel of medical clinics that had allegedly milked thousands of overseas Filipino workers applying for jobs in Kuwait.
ACTS OFW party-list Rep. John Bertiz said the arrested suspect, Husayn al-Dhafiri and the head of the Winston Q8 Certification Solutions Inc., have the same name and other personal information, thus, could be the same person.
Bertiz said that if it turns out that the two are in fact one and the same person, the National Bureau of Investigation should dig further into the operations of Winston Q8 and consider the possibility that it is financing terror operations of ISIS.
“Winston Q8 may have earned over a billion pesos by cornering clients seeking jobs in Kuwait. It’s a good thing government decided to put an end to its operations,” said Bertiz.
Al-Dhafiri and his wife, Syrian Rahaf Zina, were arrested by the Bureau of Immigration in Taguig City last month. The couple is suspected of planning a terror offensive in Metro Manila.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente disclosed that Zina is the widow of Abu Jandal Al-Kuwaiti, a highly placed IS commander killed during an airstrike last December.
Al-Dahfiri was identified as an IS operative in Syria who acquired the alias “Warsh al-Kuwaiti” and “Abu Mulim al-Kuwaiti.”
Bertiz said once Al-Dahfiri links to Winston Q8 is confirmed, law enforcement authorities should start following the money trail of the cartel to determine whether or not it is being used by terror groups to launder money.
Winston Q8’s medical screening system has been assailed by Bertiz who maintained that it merely took over the GCC Accredited Medical Association which had maintained a cartel of medical clinics that cornered the medical screening and check up of millions of OFWs bound for Middle East countries.
He said the Winston Q8 had jacked up the medical examination fees from P8,400 to triple the previous regulated amount of P2,580.
Prior to the arrest of Al-Dhafiri, Bertiz had already aired serious apprehensions about its operations, saying that firm has been operating under mysterious circumstances.
“Who controls Winston Q8 Certification Solutions Inc? No one really knows because even its website does not mention who the owners are. Yet, this company shall have full control over the fate of the job applicant and the financial transactions of its accredited medical clinics,” Bertiz said. (Ben R. Rosario)
