The Criminal Court here yesterday sentenced in absentia two people, including a ruling family member, for embezzling the Kuwait Investment Office in London.
The court sentenced Fouad Khalid Jaffar and Fahad Al Sabah to 30 years and 15 years in prison respectively, and acquitted the third suspect, Khalid Al Sabah.
Both Al Sabahs are members of the ruling family.
The embezzlement took place in the 1980s and during the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990-91.
Chief Justice Hamoud Al Mutawwa also ruled that the two convicted men must reimburse the embezzled funds and pay a fine of an equal amount, according to a report carried by the official Kuwaiti News Agency (Kuna).
The Public Prosecution filed charges against Fahad Al Sabah in his capacity as Chairman of the TORRAS Group in which the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) is a shareholder.
Fuad Khalid Jaffar was the deputy board chairman of the Kuwait Investment Office (KIO) and Khalid Al Sabah was the director of the London office.
The charges include several cases of embezzlement and mismanagement of funds belonging to KIA and its subsidiaries.
KIA is the Kuwaiti government's investment agency which manages the national financial reserves, most of which are placed in overseas investments.
The most serious charges involved the illegal acquisition of $75 million (Dh276 million) against the first suspect, illegal acquisition of $41 million (Dh151 million) against the second and illegal acquisition of $20 million (Dh74 million) against the last suspect by means of a loan of $300 million to a certain company.
The prosecution also charged that the three suspects in their official capacities facilitated the illegal acquisition of $164 million in KIA funds to several foreigners.
The prosecution accused Jaffar and Fahad Al Sabah of embezzling $22 million and allowing several foreigners to acquire $98.6 million of KIA funds in a separate deal. The suspects also pocketed profits by undervaluing shares of KIA and selling it.
