Kuwait dismantles transnational forgery ring behind illegal European visa scheme

Dubai: The Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior announced that it had dismantled an organized criminal network accused of forging official Kuwaiti documents for use in securing European visas, facilitating illegal migration and asylum requests to EU countries.

In a statement, the ministry revealed that extensive investigations uncovered a transnational forgery ring involved in manipulating government documents. These included forged work permits, falsified salary amendments, manipulated civil ID details such as employer names, counterfeit bank statements bearing forged seals, and fabricated salary certificates, all intended to meet the visa requirements of Schengen embassies.

Leading the operation is an Egyptian national residing outside Kuwait, believed to have masterminded the scheme.

Operating remotely from Egypt, the suspect coordinated the forgery process, managed financial transactions, and directed members of the network. Kuwaiti authorities are working closely with Egyptian counterparts to initiate legal proceedings against him.

The investigation also identified other key players: a second Egyptian suspect who collaborated closely with his brother, the primary ringleader, in executing the network’s forgery operations; a third Egyptian accomplice responsible for booking visa appointments and transferring confirmation receipts; and a Lebanese national whose role involved submitting those receipts to embassies to streamline the visa issuance process.

Upon receiving a warrant from the public prosecutor, authorities raided the residence of the main suspect and his brother, seizing a computer, printer, flash drives, passports, and other electronic devices used in the forgery scheme.

Several individuals who had received Schengen visas through these falsified documents were also apprehended, most of them Egyptian nationals.

The ministry stated that the ring primarily targeted expatriate workers under Article 18, luring them with promises of employment or asylum in Europe for sums ranging between KD950 and KD1,500.

Investigators confirmed that several individuals had successfully obtained European visas using the fabricated documents and had already traveled abroad. Coordination is ongoing between Kuwaiti and Egyptian authorities to expand the investigation and implement necessary legal actions.

Labeling the case as part of a pattern of organized, transnational crime, the Ministry of Interior warned that Kuwait is increasingly being exploited as a transit point for illegal migration routes, posing significant national security risks.