London, A British Indian businessman and his ex-wife are fighting extradition to the US on charges of defrauding American health programmes out of millions of dollars by providing cancer drugs not approved by the country’s federal agency.
The pair, who have divorced since the charges were brought against them and deny the charges, are also being sought to stand trial in the US on separate drug smuggling charges. Sukhi Ghuman and Kiranjit Ghuman, both 48 and now based in the UK, appeared at Westminster Magistrate’s Court in London last week for the extradition hearing. A warrant was issued by the District Court of the Southern District of California in San Diego for the duo’s arrest in October 2023, according to court reports.
Barrister Peter Caldwell KC, on behalf of the US government, said an investigation between September 2019 and April 2023 alleged the pair fraudulently obtained millions of dollars from Medicare and other health insurance plans in the United States. The court heard that the alleged offences happened while the pair were living in the US, with the drug smuggling charge carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in custody if found guilty.
