Black market for attestations with unreliable seals!
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KUWAIT CITY, Sept 3: Confronting the Corona virus crisis with complete ban on all activities, followed by the partial opening, then full opening of government services, resulted in the accumulation of transactions in all state agencies, including the Attestations Section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reports Al-Qabas daily.
Despite the efforts made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and all state agencies to regulate the process of completing clients’ transactions by reserving appointments in the implementation of precautionary measures to prevent the spread of Corona, complaints emerged from visitors to the Attestation Department due to delay in completing transactions and extending the period of obtaining an appointment to 14 days, coinciding with the emergence of “brokers and representatives” who declare their ability to complete attestations without booking appointments- in exchange for a sum higher than the real service fees, amid concerns surrounding unreliable seals.
Black market
The daily monitored the emerging black market with repeated complaints from residents about the delay in appointments given by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs platform to those who want to visit the attestation section, as some advertisements surfaced on social media platforms with fake accounts stating the provision of authentication service- provided that communication is via private messages.
It contacted two representatives and one of them deleted his account after confirming the identity of the editor, while the other sent his phone number to be contacted. He charged 10 dinars for the stamp, which is originally 5 dinars, and also requested 15 dinars for urgent authentication without the need for advance appointments.
Security follow up
Referring to a security source to describe the transactions, he indicated the competent authorities monitor the advertisements for government services, as well as the appointment systems and seals. The person who publishes the advertisement is summoned and his mechanism of work confirmed to determine the crooked ways by which he carries out transactions, and to take appropriate legal action against him.
In one of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs certification centers, workers confirmed that they refuse to seal or sign any transaction that does not belong to the concerned person or his children or whoever has first-degree relationship. There are clear instructions from the ministry officials about instant penalty against anyone who tries to process transactions belonging to another person.
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