Indian kidney racket kingpin's Australian property being seized

According to 'The Age' newspaper, Indian authorities said that Amit Kumar bought semi-rural plot in Sunbury in 2006.They also believed it was bought to launder cash from his illegal transplant clinic and that his assets will now be commandeered by Australian authorities on behalf of the Indian government.

"We are in the process of attaching (seizing) Kumar's Australian assets," the paper quoted a source as saying.Kumar's undeveloped lot at 5 Grand Ridge Way, which sits on the edge of a hilly housing development in Sunbury, is valued at around Australian dollars 600,000, it said, adding he also has a bank account and a mortgage in Australia.

Kumar, dubbed as 'Dr Horror', is believed to have visited the country before his arrest in 2008.The doctor's illegal clinic duped poor labourers mostly from Uttar Pradesh into selling their kidneys which were then transplanted into foreign clients.

Australian kidney recipients are also believed to be among his many overseas customers, and his assets in Victoria suggest he had contacts in the country.The paper said while Indian investigators have not yet found clear evidence of this, they said it "may be one of the reasons" behind Kumar's Australian investments