Public Prosecution Refers 71 Accused to the Criminal Court in the Land and Agricultural Voucher Manipulation Case
Kuwait City, Aug 31 (KUNA) -- The Public Prosecution announced on Monday that 71 defendants, including public officials, have been referred to the Court of Criminal Cases after it was established that they committed corruption crimes in a case involving manipulation of the procedures for agricultural land holdings and plots belonging to the Public Authority for Agriculture and Fisheries.
In a statement, the Public Prosecution said the corruption crimes consisted of bribery, willful damage to public funds through breach of official duties, forgery of official documents and use thereof, complicity in such crimes through agreement and assistance, money laundering, illicit enrichment, and other related offenses. These acts were carried out by manipulating procedures and documents related to agricultural land holdings and plots.
It clarified that the value of the funds and benefits involved in the corruption facts, resulting from the trading of rights to use state-owned real estate, amounted to 8,662,296.262 Kuwaiti dinars (approximately 28 million US dollars), highlighting the gravity of the tampering with public office, the intended purpose of those rights, and the integrity and assurance of their exploitation and preservation in support of the public interests for which they were designated.
It added that it initiated its investigations into the case (No. 153 of 2026), titled "Money Laundering Restriction," registered under No. 16 of 2026 at the Criminal Investigations Department, following information and inquiries that revealed corruption facts linked to the manipulation of procedures for agricultural land holdings and plots under the Public Authority for Agriculture and Fisheries, and the benefits and usage rights arising therefrom.
It pointed out that the facts spanned a period of time and involved 71 defendants, including public officials, some of whom held leadership and supervisory positions, as well as other public officials from various public entities. Additionally, 28 private legal entities (commercial entities) were involved, along with others whose roles were connected to benefiting and profiting from this manipulation, whereby authority was diverted from its intended purpose, jurisdiction was misused, and procedures originally established to protect rights became a means to infringe upon them.
It confirmed that its investigations continued until it was established that the defendants, each according to their role, committed corruption crimes consisting of bribery, willful damage to public funds through breach of official duties, forgery of official documents and use thereof, complicity through agreement and assistance, money laundering, illicit enrichment, and other related offenses, all through manipulation of procedures and documents related to agricultural land holdings and plots.
The Public Prosecution noted that the case evidence was reinforced by specialized technical reports issued by the Public Authority for Combating Corruption (Nazaha) and the Financial Investigations Unit, which included precise tracking of fund movements, their destinations, and their connection to public office, illicit enrichment, and benefiting from the aforementioned corruption crimes.
It explained that after the completion of the investigation and the availability of evidence proving the defendants committed the corruption crimes charged against them, it ordered their referral to the Court of Criminal Cases for trial in accordance with the law. (End) N.S. / K.D. A.
