Kuwait cracks down on cyberfraud network, seizes over KD100 million

Dubai: Kuwait has dismantled an international cyberfraud and money-laundering network that transferred more than KD100 million since 2023, the Ministry of Interior said.

The ministry said the operation, personally supervised by Sheikh Fahad Yousef Al Sabah, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, targeted an organised gang involved in cyberfraud, bank forgery and the smuggling of criminal proceeds through the informal hawala system.

Police arrested nine people linked to the network, including a Jordanian ringleader who fled the country but was repatriated the same day with the help of Jordanian authorities, the ministry said. The investigation was launched after a complainant reported an electronic fraud in which his bank account was emptied.

Investigators found that the stolen funds were used to purchase mobile phones, which were resold locally through associates. The proceeds were then channelled into bank accounts belonging to shell companies established by one member of the gang and later transferred abroad.

The suspect admitted setting up the companies at the request of individuals outside Kuwait to launder illicit funds, using daily deposits routed through a money-collection company and submitting fictitious invoices to banks to conceal the activity, the ministry said.

About KD6 million was deposited into the suspect’s company accounts this month alone, with the total amount laundered since 2023 estimated to exceed KD100 million. Officers seized KD108,000 before it could be transferred, along with nine smartphones purchased using fraud proceeds.

All nine suspects were referred to the Public Prosecution, including the owner of the shell companies, whose role was limited to registering the firms in his name in exchange for an annual fee, the ministry said. Authorities also coordinated with the Central Bank of Kuwait to take legal measures against the money-collection company for breaching its licensed activities by storing large amounts of cash in violation of regulations.