Kuwait busts three criminal networks in visa fraud and illegal money transfers

Dubai: Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior announced it has dismantled three separate criminal groups accused of forging work permits, trafficking in illegal visas, and conducting unauthorised cross-border money transfers.

More than 20 individuals, including government employees, have been taken into custody in the wide-ranging sweep, the Interior Ministry said.

In one case, investigators alleged that a senior official at the Public Authority of Manpower was paid bribes ranging from 130 to 250 Kuwaiti dinars to issue work permits for Egyptian workers.

That network also involved six Egyptians, a Syrian and a Kuwaiti, who are accused of arranging falsified documents that allowed companies to bring in labourers under fraudulent contracts.

A second network, according to the ministry, exploited the licences of 28 private firms to recruit nearly 400 workers from abroad.

Each worker was charged between 800 and 1,000 dinars while manpower officials allegedly pocketed kickbacks of up to 250 dinars per worker.

Police said they arrested three Kuwaiti officials, along with two Egyptians and a Palestinian, in connection with the operation.

The third case targeted an informal hawala system, where money is moved across borders outside the banking system.

Authorities said two Kuwaitis and six Egyptians were running a shadow network that routed funds through merchants in other countries, a scheme the ministry warned undermines Kuwait’s financial integrity and threatens broader economic security.

The Interior Ministry said the investigation is part of a coordinated effort to combat labour exploitation and illicit financial practices, pledging continued crackdowns on networks that damage trust in state institutions and distort the labour market.