Who else was involved in this massive corruption case?

10/09/2026

Who else was involved in this massive corruption case?

The former Director General of Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS) died four years ago. But the money that passed through his hands is still speaking. The latest reminder came not from Kuwait, but from Switzerland. A former senior Swiss banker was convicted of bribery and aggravated money laundering after paying CHF82.3 million to the former PIFSS Director General in return for placing approximately $595 million from Kuwaiti pension assets with his bank and its investment funds by 2012. The case went further. Nearly CHF77 million was moved through 122 transfers designed to obscure the illicit origin of the funds and frustrate their tracing and confiscation.

These figures raise a larger question: who else was involved? The former Director General ran PIFSS from 1984 to 2012, a period of 28 years, at an institution responsible for investing billions of dinars in Kuwaitis’ pension assets. A corruption network spanning banks, asset managers, intermediaries and jurisdictions cannot reasonably be examined only as the story of one man. Behind every questionable investment, commission or contract was another party. Who benefited unlawfully? How much did they receive, and for what? Were assets and services acquired at fair value? Who acted as intermediaries? Who collected commissions? These are questions, not accusations.

Criminal responsibility cannot be established by suspicion. But foreign court proceedings have already demonstrated that the former Director General did not operate in isolation. The timing makes these questions particularly relevant. Dr. Rana Al Fares was appointed Chairperson of the Kuwait Anti Corruption Authority, Nazaha, in March, while Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al Ahmad Al Sabah has made meeting Financial Action Task Force requirements and strengthening Kuwait’s anti money laundering framework a strategic priority.

This case offers the government and Nazaha a practical test of those commitments. There is little value in prosecuting a dead man again. Kuwait needs to know who was alive around him. Who received money, how much, and why? Anyone who participated or benefited unlawfully should not be protected by the passage of time or by remaining out of the public eye. Holding yesterday’s wrongdoers accountable sends a message to those who might consider corruption tomorrow: time does not erase responsibility, and it should never become a shield from accountability.

By Abdulaziz Al-Anjeri