Panel drops charges against Kuwait's former oil minister

Kuwait City: A special judicial investigative panel has dismissed multi-million dollar graft accusations against a former oil minister and member of the ruling family, according to a court document obtained yesterday.

The move closed a case that has captured public attention for over a decade.

According to the Ministry of Justice document, the three judges who interrogated Shaikh Ali Al Khalifa Al Sabah decided on Tuesday to close their probe 'for lack of evidence.' The document said Kuwait's prosecutor general has been informed of the decision but did not provide any more details.

This means Shaikh Ali will not be referred to a special court in charge of trying Cabinet ministers, according to a 1995 law regulating legal action against government members. Shaikh Ali was suspected of 'making it possible' as oil minister in the 1980s for officials of the Kuwait Oil Tankers Co. to embezzle millions of dollars from leasing tankers to ghost companies at higher-than-usual fees and pocketing the difference.