Saudi man jailed 7 years, fined Dh3.8m in Kuwait citizenship scam

Dubai: A Kuwaiti criminal court has sentenced a Saudi national to seven years in prison and imposed a fine of about Dh3.8 million after convicting him of forging Kuwaiti citizenship, according to the newspaper Al Seyassh.

The case, which is beleived to be one of the most prominent citizenship forgery schemes in decades, lasted more than 30 years, from 1993 to 2025. The ruling was issued by the Criminal Court presided over by Judge Al Dhuwaihi Al Dhuwaihi, with Judges Salem Al Zayed and Ibrahim Khuraibat as members.

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The defendant, a serving member of the military, was found guilty of fraudulently obtaining Kuwaiti citizenship in exchange for Dh420,000. Prosecutors said he falsely claimed to be the son of a person whose nationality had later been revoked after it was proven to have been acquired unlawfully.

Investigations by the Nationality Investigations Department found that the man’s biometric fingerprint matched the photograph on his Saudi identity card, confirming the deception.

The court also sentenced the man’s father, in absentia, to seven years in prison for his role in the case.

Authorities said the defendant used the forged citizenship to secure government employment, serving as a corporal at the Ministry of Defence and later working as a police officer at the Ministry of Interior. Through these positions, he obtained salaries, financial benefits, loans and pension entitlements exceeding Dh1.26 million.