Kuwait authorities expose decades-long citizenship fraud

Dubai: Kuwaiti authorities have uncovered one of the most extensive and carefully concealed nationality forgery schemes in the country’s modern history, a case that stretched across more than five decades and ultimately affected 264 people, including children and grandchildren.

At the centre of the case are three men from a Gulf state who are full brothers by birth, sharing the same father, grandfather and family lineage, according to Al Rai newspaper. 

In Kuwait, however, each brother lived under a completely different identity, registering himself as the son of a different Kuwaiti father and affiliating with unrelated families. On paper, they appeared to be strangers. In reality, they were members of the same family.

Investigators later described the arrangement as a deliberate fragmentation of identity, “brothers in the Gulf, strangers in Kuwait”, a strategy that allowed the deception to survive undetected for decades.

The case began to unravel in 2006, when one of the sons of the first accused, identified in official records as “A”, became embroiled in a financial and legal dispute in Iran. 

The matter prompted formal correspondence between Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior regarding a Kuwaiti citizen who had left the country illegally and was facing claims overseas.

During its inquiries, the Kuwaiti embassy in Tehran discovered that the individual also held another Gulf nationality. The embassy forwarded all relevant documents to the Ministry of Interior, creating the first official trail that would later lead to a far wider investigation.

Years later, as part of a broader review of nationality files flagged for inconsistencies, the Nationality Investigations Department reopened the case. A comparison of names across jurisdictions revealed a striking pattern: in the Gulf state, the individual and his brothers carried identical full names, including their father’s and grandfather’s names. In Kuwait, only their first names matched. The rest of their identities were entirely different.

Legally, they were unrelated. Biologically, they were full brothers.

Closer scrutiny of “A” revealed that his children carried the same first names in both Kuwait and the Gulf state, a strong indicator of dual nationality. Investigators found that “A” had 21 sons and daughters, all of whom held both Kuwaiti and Gulf nationalities.

When the men listed as his brothers in Kuwaiti records were summoned, they denied any familial connection and confirmed that “A” was not included in their inheritance registry. 

DNA testing conclusively proved that they were not biologically related, and that “A’s” children were not their nephews. Gulf records also showed that “A” had formally waived inheritance rights abroad.

Authorities confirmed that “A” has been a fugitive since August. His file alone affects 86 dependants, including grandchildren.

The second case emerged through a report submitted via an official hotline. The report alleged that a Kuwaiti citizen, identified as “M”, had falsified his nationality and manipulated investigation records under a Gulf identity.

Investigations confirmed that “M” and his children carried a Gulf name that bore no resemblance to their Kuwaiti identity, including a different first name. When those listed as his brothers in Kuwait were questioned, they denied knowing him and confirmed that he was not part of their inheritance records.

DNA samples taken from five alleged brothers and from “M’s” sons showed no biological relationship, confirming that the nationality file had been forged. “M”, who has been a fugitive since February, has 35 sons and daughters. Including grandchildren, his case affects 115 individuals.

The third case involved a man who left Kuwait in early 2025 and had 27 sons and daughters registered under his citizenship file. In 2017, one of his sons was stripped of Kuwaiti nationality after authorities discovered official Gulf documents carrying a different name.

Subsequent DNA testing of the alleged brothers and sons confirmed that the supposed uncles were not biologically related. The total number of individuals affected by this branch of the case reached 63, including grandchildren.

When investigators compiled the evidence across all three cases, a clear picture emerged. The three accused men were full brothers in their country of origin, sharing the same complete lineage. 

In Kuwait, they had deliberately distributed themselves across three unrelated families, each under a different family extension.

To eliminate any remaining doubt, DNA samples from the children of all three men were compared. The results were definitive: the children are cousins, scientific proof that their fathers are full brothers.

With that confirmation, the Nationality Investigations Department exposed a forgery that had remained hidden for more than half a century, piecing together a fragmented truth through forensic science.

The scale of the case

• First accused (“A”): 21 sons and daughters; 86 dependants including grandchildren

• Second accused (“M”): 35 sons and daughters; 115 dependants including grandchildren

• Third accused: 27 sons and daughters; 63 dependants including grandchildren

Total affected individuals: 264

Legal procedures are now under way to address the consequences of the case in accordance with Kuwaiti law, in what is being described as one of the most complex nationality fraud cases the country has ever confronted.