08/12/2025
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08/12/2025
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KUWAIT CITY, Dec 8: The Criminal Court, presided over by Judge Nasser Al-Badr, issued arrest warrants for 15 defendants, both men and women, who are involved in the case known in the media as the “Ya Hala Draws” case. The court ordered all defendants to be referred to the Central Jail pending trial to complete the investigation and judicial procedures. The Ya Hala draws file originated from reports submitted by security authorities regarding manipulation of commercial raffle draws organized under the Kuwait Shopping Festival “Ya Hala,” supervised by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Investigations revealed suspected tampering with the results of numerous draws through forgery, bribery, and exploitation of official positions to unlawfully direct prizes to specific beneficiaries in exchange for financial gains. Earlier this year, criminal investigation teams in cooperation with the Ministry of Commerce uncovered a network allegedly involved in rigging festival draws, identifying a senior official in the raffle department and several collaborators. Among those linked to the scheme was an expat woman who allegedly benefited from multiple vehicle prizes and was arrested at Kuwait International Airport as she attempted to leave the country.
Due to the sensitivity of the case and its impact on public confidence in commercial promotions, the Public Prosecution previously ordered that investigations into the Ya Hala Shopping Festival draws be conducted confidentially and prohibited publication of details until the conclusion of inquiries. The broader file on draw manipulation in Kuwait covers dozens of commercial draws, significant prize values, and a large number of defendants referred to the Criminal Court on charges that include bribery, forgery, money laundering, and embezzlement of public funds.
By Jaber Al-Hamoud Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff
