Colonel, aides acquitted in major work permits, family visa racket

26/11/2025

Colonel, aides acquitted in major work permits, family visa racket

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 26: The Court of Cassation upheld the ruling of the lower courts, acquitting all defendants in one of the largest bribery and corruption cases involving Assistant Director of the Office of the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior Colonel Maneh Marzouq Al-Ajmi, along with the secretaries of former members of Parliament, Syrians and others. The Public Prosecution referred the case, involving 26 defendants, to the court on charges related to bribery and forging visa applications for expatriates in exchange for KD2,000 per transaction.

The prosecution charged seven defendants of soliciting and accepting the sums detailed in the investigations from the rest of the defendants. They allegedly used their influence to obtain entry visas and family reunification applications for the rest of the defendants and others from the Residency Affairs Office. The prosecution also charged them with facilitating a foreigner’s acquisition of a residency and visit permit in Kuwait in exchange for money, as detailed in the investigations.

One of the defendants was charged with forging the seal of a public official (Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior) with the intent to use it on official documents, 19 of the defendants were charged with providing the seven defendants with the sums mentioned in the charges, and 17 of the defendants were charged with obtaining residency and visit permits in Kuwait for their relatives in exchange for money.