Syrian jailed for 7 years for forging Kuwaiti citizenship, ordered to repay KD 600,000

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 28 : Kuwait’s Court of Appeal has sentenced a Syrian national to seven years in prison for fraudulently obtaining Kuwaiti citizenship by being added to the citizenship file of a deceased Kuwaiti citizen in 1971.

The court, chaired by Counselor Abdullah Al-Saneh and comprising Counselors Saud Al-Mutairi and Bassam Al-Ghuweinim, also ordered the accused to repay KD600,000 and pay a fine equal to twice that amount, bringing the financial penalties to KD1.8 million.

According to the case details, the accused’s father had allegedly reached an agreement with the deceased Kuwaiti citizen to register his son in the citizen’s nationality file in exchange for money. The accused subsequently obtained Kuwaiti citizenship and benefited from its privileges, including serving in a military position at the Ministry of Defense.

The case came to light after a dispute between the accused and his Syrian brothers, who reported the matter to the authorities. He was subsequently arrested by the Citizenship Investigations Department.

During questioning, the accused reportedly confessed to the offense in detail and acknowledged that he had known about the circumstances of his registration in the citizenship file since 2000.