Mohammed Asif Ali, detained in connection with Indian doctor Mohamed Haneef's case, is believed to be trying to leave Australia as early as Thursday.
Asif Ali, also an Indian doctor, was hoping to have the Australian Federal Police return his passport on Thursday in order to leave the country, his lawyer, Neil Lawler, said on Wednesday night, according to The Sydney Morning Herald report on Thursday.
Asif Ali was suspended from the Gold Coast Hospital after federal police found he had exaggerated his qualifications.
The development came amid suggestions from federal sources that the Queensland government would be happy to allow him to leave to avoid further embarrassment over his employment on the basis of suspect credentials.
Queensland government sources on Wednesday night denied knowledge of plans to allow Asif Ali to leave.
He was a junior doctor who would have been employed in any event on the basis of his actual qualifications, they said.
The federal police reportedly ascertained that Asif Ali, who was suspended on full pay, had exaggerated his job experience in India by three months.
He was also allegedly found to be in possession of rubber stamps and letterheads that could support a forged curriculum vitae.
Asif Ali was detained temporarily when friend and colleague, Haneef, was held for questioning over alleged links to those accused of the attempted car-bombing of Glasgow airport.
The Queensland president of the Australian Medical Association Ross Cartmill said on Wednesday night the AMA would take the view that any doctor facing allegations of irregularities should be the subject of "due process" and the matter should be dealt with by the Queensland Medical Registration Board.
