Two Money-Laundering Networks Jailed, Million-Dinar Fines Imposed
The Court of Appeal’s State Security Division, presided over by Advisor Abdullah Al-Sanea and with advisors Mohammed Jaafar and Saud Al-Mutairi as members, issued several rulings in cases involving money laundering, appeals against the rights of His Highness the Amir, and affiliation with ISIS.
In the first case, the court upheld the 10-year prison sentence for 21 defendants—comprising Kuwaiti nationals, stateless persons, and Yemeni, Syrian, and Egyptian nationals—in a money laundering case involving unlicensed banking activities through 17 commercial companies and the forgery of banking documents. The defendants were fined 202 million Kuwaiti dinars, equivalent to double the amount involved in the crime, and the companies were fined 101 million Kuwaiti dinars, representing the value of the funds involved, according to investigations by the State Security Agency and the Financial Investigations Unit.
The prosecution accused the defendants of forming a terrorist group, laundering more than 101 million dinars obtained from crimes harming the country’s national interests, forging banking documents, establishing shell companies to collect expatriates’ salaries in Kuwait and transfer them to Syria, engaging in unlicensed banking activities, laundering illicit funds through goods imported from China, and transferring the money back to the companies’ accounts.
In the second case, the court upheld the 10-year prison sentences for one Kuwaiti national and two Egyptians, fining them 199.588 million dinars and imposing fines of 99 million dinars on commercial entities “representing the value of the money laundering crime funds.” The court also permanently banned them from engaging in commercial activities. Two Kuwaiti nationals and two Egyptians were acquitted of charges related to conducting unlicensed banking activities and trading foreign currencies for expatriates’ salaries in Kuwait, and transferring them to others in Egypt by depositing them into company accounts under the guise of legitimate revenues and profits, thereby harming the country’s national interests.
In a separate case, the court upheld a three-year prison sentence for a Twitter user who publicly appealed against the rights of His Highness the Amir, insulted members of the judiciary, and undermined their integrity and impartiality. The court also upheld acquittals for offenses against Egypt.
Additionally, the court upheld a 10-year prison sentence for a Kuwaiti national who joined ISIS, promoted the group’s terrorist and takfiri ideology on social media platforms, received training on manufacturing fireworks via Telegram, and attempted to procure an explosive belt to carry out a terrorist attack against Shia Muslims in Kuwait. He also publicly appealed against the rights of His Highness the Amir and insulted the Amir’s person.
State Security Agency investigations revealed that the defendant pledged allegiance to ISIS leadership and received instructions to carry out terrorist attacks against Shia Muslims. However, he failed to execute the plot after his arrest. During interrogations, he confessed to embracing the terrorist ideology, supporting bombings against Shia Muslims, and targeting Shia places of worship.
