Kuwait jails 3 over phantom chalets in high-profile fraud case
Defendants charged with selling chalets to 1,000 Kuwaitis through real-estate exhibitions
Cairo: A Kuwaiti court has handed down custodial sentences to three people charged with fraud for selling bogus chalets and fleecing victims of millions of dinars in a high-profile case, Kuwaiti media reported.
The defendants were charged with selling the chalets to around 1,000 Kuwaitis through real-estate exhibitions licensed by the Ministry of Commerce, Al Qabas newspaper reported, calling it one of the biggest real-estate fraud cases.
The Criminal Court sentenced the prime defendant to 10 years in prison and handed down a five-year-jail term each to two other-co-defendants, the paper added.
The court also ordered the trio to pay a total fine of KD3 million.
They were accused of money laundering and fraud.
According to Al Rai newspaper, the three are an Iraqi manager, who was given 10 years in prison, his Kuwaiti wife and her brother—each handed down five years in jail.