Manama: A Syrian caught trying to smuggle 500,000 euros in cash through Kuwait airport said that he had received the money from charity organisations.
Reports in Kuwait City said that the man, who was not identified, had hidden the money in his suitcase and that he was heading to Turkey.
He told investigators that the money was handed over to him by Kuwaiti charity organisations to distribute among Syrian refugees in Turkey.
However, he did not identify any of the charity groups or present any document that proved the source of the cash he had with him, local Arabic daily Al Watan reported on Sunday.
Kuwaiti officers are treating the case as one of money laundering.
Airport authorities urged incoming or outgoing passengers to declare large amounts of cash as well as gold they are carrying to avoid wading into legal problems, the daily said.
The justice ministry has repeatedly warned against raising funds without proper licensing and has insisted that it was adopting a zero-tolerance policy towards breaking the law.
Several groups have called for campaigns to collect money to help the Syrians fighting the regime of President Bashar Al Assad.
