KUWAIT CITY, Nov 17: The Criminal Court held its first session to hear the case against 73 defendants accused of orchestrating a systematic manipulation of commercial draws supervised by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry between 2021 and 2025.

During the hearing, the court decided to postpone the case until December 8 to allow time for copying and reviewing the full case file. The court also rejected the defense’s requests for the release of the defendants, who will remain in custody until the next session.

The Public Prosecution had announced late last month that it had concluded its investigation into the case and referred the defendants to the Criminal Court. The charges include bribery, forgery of official and electronic documents, and money laundering.

According to the prosecution, the accused operated as an organized network that manipulated 110 commercial draws, with a total value exceeding 1.2 million Kuwaiti dinars. As part of its efforts to recover the illicit proceeds, the prosecution has ordered the seizure of funds and assets totaling over one million dinars linked to the case.

Authorities emphasized that the case represents one of the largest instances of commercial draw manipulation in recent years and that the investigation reflects Kuwait’s ongoing commitment to tackling corruption and protecting public trust in regulated commercial processes.