Kuwait investigates 24 citizenship forgery cases

Cairo: Kuwait’s prosecutors investigated 24 cases of citizenship forgery last year, a government source has disclosed, as the country is pressing ahead with a crackdown on ineligible holders of Kuwaiti nationality.

Sixty-five people are linked to the 24 cases, Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qabas reported, citing the source.

Those people are accused of having unlawfully obtained a total of 4.4 million dinars (Dh52.3 million) in state money.

“The number of properties and farms of the forgers is currently being listed in preparation for their withdrawal in coordination with the competent authorities,” the source said without further details.

Kuwait, a country of around 4.9 million people mostly expatriates, has recently launched a clampdown on citizenship fraud and duality to protect national identity.

Authorities have withdrawn citizenship from hundreds of people since early March due to fraud or holding another nationality that is banned under Kuwaiti law.

The Kuwaiti Interior Ministry has set up a hotline to receive reports about holders of dual citizenship or those who obtained it through forgery.

The ministry has urged the public with related information to report it via the hotline for investigations, promising the whistleblowers full secrecy.

Kuwaiti media reported about several uncovered cases of foreigners, who obtained Kuwaiti citizenship through falsehood and forgery. Some of the unlawful citizens were taken to court and received jailing rulings.

A Kuwaiti court has recently sentenced three Gulf nationals to 10 years in prison each on charges of forging Kuwaiti citizenship and illegally pocketing KD500,000 in government salaries and perks.

The criminal court also ordered the defendants to return KD1 million to the state treasury. The fine is double the amount of the government pay they got while holding Kuwaiti citizenship after unlawfully claiming to be children of Kuwaiti men.