Kuwait to prosecute illegal donation raisers

Cairo: Kuwaiti authorities plan to refer individuals and agencies involved in collecting donations without permits as part of the country’s efforts to combat financing of dubious activities.

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Social Affairs had sent several correspondences to the public prosecutor, requesting referral of a group of people who had unlawfully raised donations, Al Jarida newspaper reported.

In one correspondence, the paper said, the ministry noted that its field teams had monitored some people installing boards on roads calling for donations without obtaining a prior approval from the ministry in violation of a 1959 law regulating donation collecting.

Under Kuwaiti law, individuals and groups are prohibited from collecting donations from the general public without securing a prior permit from the Ministry of Social Affairs at least one month before the collecting process.

“This stipulation aims at keeping interlopers at bay from charity work and stopping them from unlawfully raising donations outside the State’s oversight,” the ministry said, according to the paper.

The paper did not disclose the number of suspects in unlawful fund raising.