Kuwait court jails Kuwaitis, Yemenis, Syrians, Egyptians for 10 years in KD602m money laundering cases

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 22:  Kuwait’s Court of Appeal, State Security Circuit, has upheld 10-year prison sentences against defendants in two money laundering cases involving allegations of unlicensed banking activities, forged bank documents and the laundering of illicit funds through fictitious commercial entities.

The court, chaired by Counselor Abdullah Al-Sanai and comprising Counselors Muhammad Jafar and Saud Al-Mutairi, issued rulings in the two cases, with total fines imposed on defendants and commercial entities amounting to about KD 602 million.

In the first case, the court upheld 10-year prison sentences against 21 defendants, including Kuwaiti citizens, stateless persons, Yemenis, Syrians and an Egyptian. The defendants were also ordered to pay KD 202 million, equivalent to twice the value of the funds involved, while 17 commercial companies were fined KD 101 million, representing the value of the funds involved in the alleged offenses.

According to the case details, investigations by the State Security Agency and the Financial Investigations Unit led to charges including forming a terrorist group, laundering more than KD 101 million obtained through crimes allegedly harmful to Kuwait’s national interests, forging bank documents, establishing fictitious companies to collect expatriate salary funds and transfer them to Syria, and conducting banking activities without a license.

The defendants were also accused of laundering illicit funds through the purchase of goods from China before transferring the money back into company accounts.

In the second case, the court upheld 10-year prison sentences against a Kuwaiti citizen and Egyptian defendants and imposed fines totaling KD 199.588 million on the individuals. Commercial entities involved in the case were fined KD 99 million, corresponding to the value of the money laundering offense. The court also permanently barred the concerned commercial entities from conducting commercial activities.

The defendants were accused of conducting banking activities without a license by trading in foreign currencies linked to expatriate salaries in Kuwait and transferring the funds to individuals in Egypt, allegedly disguising the transactions by depositing the money into company accounts as legitimate revenues and profits.

The court acquitted a Kuwaiti citizen and Egyptian defendants who had also been accused in the second case.

The defendants in the second case were arrested following investigations and an operation carried out by the General Department for Combating Terrorism and Money Laundering in cooperation with the Criminal Execution Investigations Department.

Security investigations tracking the movement of funds allegedly uncovered multiple criminal activities involving coordination with traders in several friendly and brotherly countries. Authorities said the activities caused harm to the financial and economic system and undermined confidence in the banking systems of Kuwait and the other countries involved.