03/07/2025
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03/07/2025
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KUWAIT CITY, July 3: In a dramatic breakthrough to a case dating back more than four decades, Kuwait’s Nationality Investigation Department has uncovered a major citizenship fraud involving two Iraqi nationals who were illegally registered as Kuwaiti citizens. The revelation follows a renewed investigation into a case long considered closed due to a lack of evidence and technological limitations at the time.
A Suspicious Addition to a Kuwaiti Citizen's File
The investigation was triggered by reports concerning two individuals (whose names have been withheld), suspected of having been fraudulently added to the nationality file of a Kuwaiti citizen. Official records show that both men were born in 1950 to different mothers. Their father, a naturalized Kuwaiti citizen, obtained his citizenship in 1965 but did not include either of them in his nationality file at the time. Instead, he registered other, younger children.
Delayed Request Raises Red Flags
In 1980, 15 years after acquiring Kuwaiti citizenship, the same father submitted a request to the Ministry of Interior’s Nationality Department to include the two 30-year-old men in his citizenship file. At the time, the request raised suspicions due to the unusual delay and the ages of the sons involved.
Suleiman Al-Mishaan, then Assistant Undersecretary for Nationality Affairs, referred the case for investigation. However, due to the lack of advanced forensic and documentation tools, the probe was inconclusive, and the case was closed with no criminal findings. The two individuals were subsequently granted Kuwaiti citizenship and officially registered in the national records.
Modern Investigation Uncovers the Truth
Years later, the Nationality Investigation Department reopened the case after receiving new intelligence. A thorough review of the files revealed several red flags, including the absence of any legal marriage documentation between the alleged father and the mothers of the two men.
Given that the father had since passed away, investigators summoned his known children for genetic testing. DNA analysis ultimately exposed the truth: the supposed paternal link between the deceased and the two men was false. Furthermore, DNA testing of the alleged descendants showed that their so-called uncles were not biologically related to them.
Implications for National Security
The investigation took a further alarming turn when it was discovered that one of the sons of the fraudulent individuals had risen to a senior rank in the Kuwaiti military and was even under consideration for a high-level leadership role.
A Widening Web of Fraud
Authorities revealed that the two individuals at the center of the case were in fact Iraqi nationals. Their addition to the Kuwaiti nationality file was based on false claims of parentage, and in a startling revelation, investigators noted that the alleged father was only 14 years older than the two men—a clear indication of the fabrication.
Further examination of the fraudulent nationality records linked to these two individuals suggests that as many as 110 people may have benefited from this scheme through extended family registration.
The case has now been handed over to the relevant legal authorities for prosecution and corrective measures. Officials have vowed to review all related files and tighten controls to prevent similar abuses in the future.
