WILLEMSTAD, SAINT VINCENT — The dramatic collapse of Richmond Gabriel University (RGU), once a promising offshore medical school in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, has triggered outrage and demands for justice across multiple jurisdictions, including Curaçao. With allegations of financial mismanagement, deceptive leadership, and an elaborate international cover-up, students have been left stranded—without degrees, transcripts, or refunds.
An International Web of Deception
Founded as a Caribbean medical institution offering international clinical placements, RGU began to show signs of instability in 2024. In May that year, the school announced an ambitious expansion to Curaçao. Students were told the Arnos Vale and Belair campuses in Saint Vincent were closing temporarily for renovations. Behind the scenes, however, the university was already unraveling: salaries were unpaid, utility bills ignored, and equipment quietly moved out. When students arrived at the Belair campus, it was abandoned.
What followed was a series of misleading communications and cover-ups. Dr. Maneharran Paulpillai, RGU’s president, assured students that their credits would transfer to a “partner university.” No such university ever materialized. Simultaneously, tuition payments were being diverted to various shell entities — including Global Higher Education Inc. in Canada, controlled by Paulpillai and his mother, and Richmond Gabriel University LLC in the U.S., tied to Dr. Sameer Suhail.
A Shadow Chancellor and U.S. Indictment
Dr. Sameer Suhail, the alleged financial backer and “Chancellor” of RGU’s failed Curaçao expansion, is now under federal indictment in the United States for a $15 million fraud scheme connected to Chicago’s Loretto Hospital. Notably, RGU students were placed in clinical rotations at Loretto through businesses operated by Suhail’s wife, Dena Besumi Suhail, who served as Director of Medical Education at the hospital.
Suhail has since fled to Dubai and is reportedly operating a cosmetic surgery clinic, despite his indictment.
The Failed Curaçao Campus
On May 22, 2024, a ceremony was held in Curaçao celebrating the “official opening” of the RGU campus, with Suhail, Dr. Paulpillai, legal counsel Joseph Hylak-Reinoltz, and Dean of Student Affairs Dr. Gomattie Chunilall in attendance. However, no actual academic programs commenced in Curaçao, and by August, Chunilall bizarrely claimed in a memo that RGU had “never relocated” to the island.
Students have since accused Chunilall of knowingly misleading them and suppressing information. One student leader, Derick Jr. Ambrose, stated, “This was not confusion — it was a cover-up.”
Legal, Economic, and Human Fallout
In February 2025, the Government of Saint Vincent officially revoked RGU’s accreditation. The campuses and even the university’s bus were seized. The final communication from the university came in a memo promising credit transfers—a promise never fulfilled.
The consequences have been devastating. According to the Minister of Finance of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the collapse of RGU has led to over $2 million USD in lost economic activity. Dozens of students have been left in legal limbo, facing immigration issues, housing insecurity, and deep financial losses. Some are being told they must repay scholarship funds to receive their transcripts.
Students are now demanding:
The unconditional release of transcripts without retroactive financial penalties.
Criminal investigations in Saint Vincent, Canada, and the United States.
Accountability for key actors including Dr. Paulpillai, Dr. Chunilall, Dr. Sameer Suhail, lawyer Joseph Hylak-Reinoltz, and accountant Ali Syed.
Government support for students facing distress due to the collapse.
Curaçao’s Name in the Scandal
Curaçao, which was briefly touted as RGU’s next frontier, is now unwittingly entangled in the scandal. Despite the promotional fanfare, there is no trace of an actual operational campus. The involvement of local officials or institutions remains unclear, but students are urging authorities in Curaçao to investigate their own jurisdiction’s role in facilitating what they now view as an elaborate scam.
Global Pattern of Fraud
The scandal extends beyond academia. Suhail’s associate, Jamil Elkoussa—who previously worked with Loretto Hospital—was recently charged in a separate $200 million COVID-19 testing fraud scheme. The tangled web of connections spans Canada, the United States, Dubai, and now Curaçao, making this a case of truly international misconduct.
Students Fight Back
Students are refusing to be silenced. In June 2025, they wrote to Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves of Saint Vincent pleading for assistance. Advocates like Edward Taylor and Derick Ambrose are collecting evidence, giving interviews, and rallying global support.
“This is not just a student crisis—it’s an institutional failure,” said Taylor. “We were lied to, used for tuition payments, and left with nothing. The people responsible must be held to account.”
As more jurisdictions—including Curaçao—reckon with their possible entanglement, the question remains: how many more students must suffer before justice is served?
