US News

British-Indian former couple contest US extradition over alleged cancer drug fraud

A British-Indian businessman and his former wife are appearing in a London court to challenge their extradition to the United States, where they face charges of defrauding health programmes and smuggling unapproved cancer medications.

British-Indian former couple contest US extradition over alleged cancer drug fraud

A British-Indian businessman and his former wife are currently appearing before a London court to contest an extradition request from the United States. The pair, both 48, face serious allegations involving a multi-million dollar fraud scheme targeting American healthcare programmes, as well as separate charges related to the smuggling of medical drugs.

Sukhi Ghuman and Kiranjit Ghuman, who are now based in the United Kingdom, appeared at Westminster Magistrate's Court last week. The legal proceedings follow an arrest warrant issued by the District Court of the Southern District of California in San Diego in October 2023. Both individuals have formally denied the allegations brought against them.

Allegations of healthcare fraud and drug smuggling

During the extradition hearing, Barrister Peter Caldwell KC, representing the United States government, outlined the scope of the investigation. Authorities allege that between September 2019 and April 2023, the pair orchestrated a scheme to defraud Medicare and various private health insurance plans. The prosecution contends that the duo obtained inexpensive, unapproved chemotherapy medications from overseas sources and administered them to patients at oncology clinics they operated across California and Arizona. Investigators further alleged that some of the pharmaceuticals provided to patients were expired.