She sold luxury dreams that never existed across Gulf and Egypt

Dubai: A major real estate fraud case that promised luxury beachfront chalets and high-return resort investments in Egypt has ended with heavy prison sentences in Kuwait, after authorities uncovered one of the country’s most significant property scam operations in recent years.

Kuwait’s Criminal Court sentenced a Kuwaiti woman accused of leading the network, alongside three Egyptian nationals and a stateless resident, to five years in prison with hard labour after convicting them of selling fictitious chalets in the Al Khiran area and promoting a tourism resort project in Egypt that investigators later found did not exist, Al Rai newspaper reported. 

The case exposed a sophisticated fraud scheme targeting investors and families seeking holiday properties and tourism investments.

According to court findings, the network marketed the projects through officially licensed real estate exhibitions and promotional campaigns designed to give potential buyers a false sense of legitimacy and security.

Victims were persuaded to pay large sums for luxury units and investment opportunities that were later discovered to be non-existent developments with no actual construction on the ground.

The court also imposed financial penalties exceeding KD5.316 million in one of the toughest judicial rulings issued in Kuwait against an alleged real estate fraud operation.

The scandal sparked outrage among victims, many of whom said they only discovered the deception after the company behind the projects abruptly disappeared and promises of delivering the so-called “dream chalets” collapsed.

While the court convicted several defendants, other individuals linked to the case were acquitted.

Ali Al Attar, a lawyer representing a number of victims, said the ruling is a “historic victory” for those affected by the scheme, saying the verdict established the responsibility of the company that organized the real estate exhibition under regulations overseen by Kuwait’s Ministry of Commerce.

Al Attar said further legal steps would now focus on enforcing the judgments and recovering victims’ funds, adding that the case exposed dangerous loopholes exploited by fraudulent networks using glossy advertisements and unrealistic promises of profitable investments.