Expat illegally holds Kuwaiti citizenship for 36 years
Man faces fraud charges for allegedly paying money to obtain citizenship
Cairo: An expatriate, who obtained Kuwaiti citizenship through fraud 36 years ago, is facing legal action as Kuwait has ramped up a clampdown on illegal holders of its nationality.
Kuwait's nationality police have referred to public prosecution a Sudanese man for having obtained Kuwaiti citizenship in 1988 in exchange for money, Almajilis news portal reported.
The expatriate had allegedly paid money to a Kuwaiti woman, now dead, who had claimed he was a foundling, and she wanted to adopt him, the report added.
Measures are being taken to strip the man and his children of Kuwaiti citizenship.
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In recent weeks, 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 ($1.6 million) in government salaries and perks.
The criminal court also ordered the defendants to return KD1 million to the state treasury, Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qabas reported last week.
Kuwait, a country of around 4.9 million people mostly expatriates, has recently launched a crackdown 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Authorities have withdrawn citizenship from hundreds of people since early March due to fraud or holding another nationality that is banned under Kuwaiti law.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 members of the public with related information to report it via the hotline for investigations, promising the whistleblowers full secrecy.