Kuwait: Two senior state security officers involved in Malaysian fund scandal released

Dubai: Kuwait’s Criminal Court on Monday released two senior state security officers after two weeks of detention in the Central Prison on charges of their involvement in the leaked recordings related to the Malaysian Sovereign Fund scandal.

According to Al Qabas Arabic daily newspaper, the court also adjourned the hearing of the case to November 23, in order to summon the assistant director of the State Security Agency to listen to his testimony.

The released officers are among seven high-profile Kuwaiti officials accused of spying on the accounts of citizens and MPs as well as of colluding with the suspects involved in the Malaysian fund scandal. Five officers are outside Kuwait.

Al Qabas newspaper said the case is expected to be reserved for judgment after the next hearing, and the two officers and five others who are outside the country will be sentenced.

Al Qabas quoted other news service accounts that said the two accused officers are Faisal Al Salman, who belongs to the ruling family, and officer Nasser Al Tayyar.

The scandal of the fund and the “State security leaks” ignited public attention a few months ago after Kuwaiti Twitter accounts posted the leaked recordings dating back to 2018 related to the scandal of the Malaysian fund.

In August, the Ministry of Interior formed a probe committee to investigate the leaked recordings and the suspension of officers. The ministry also referred the case to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

On September 7, the Public Prosecution detained the two officers and subjected them to investigation on charges of treason and breach of job trust after they were accused of stealing secret documents and recordings related to Kuwait’s national security in 2019 and leaking them out of the country.

One week later, prosecutors decided to release the officers on bail of 5,000 dinars each, before they were detained again by the court later.