Criminal Court Convicts International Gambling Network, Orders Heavy Fines and Prison Terms

KUWAIT CITY, March 19: The Criminal Court, presided over by Judge Ahmed Al-Sadi, convicted an international gambling and betting network operating via a website and managing alternative money transfer operations, after proving the existence of an organized money laundering network using shell companies. The court imposed severe penalties, including imprisonment, fines, and confiscation of funds.

The verdict will be published in the official gazette at the expense of the convicted parties. The court sentenced the first defendant, a Syrian national, to 15 years in prison with hard labor. Six Egyptian defendants, including a woman, and another defendant were each sentenced to ten years in prison with hard labor, and jointly fined KD 16,839,226.620 for money laundering crimes linked to international gambling and betting activities.

The court also ordered the confiscation of the seized funds and forged documents, along with all proceeds derived from them, both inside and outside Kuwait, in addition to the tools used to commit the crimes. It further ordered the deportation of the first eight defendants from the country after they serve their sentences.

Regarding the entities connected to the case, the court fined five shell companies jointly and severally a total of KD 8,419,613.310, and ordered the permanent closure of their offices used in committing the crimes. The court decided to publish the verdict in the official gazette at the expense of the convicted parties, based on its finding that an organized money laundering network was operating through shell companies linked to international gambling and betting activities.

By Jaber Al-Hamoud, Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff