Khashoggi Law!!
Some decisions, or even laws, are undoubtedly in the interest of society. However, if we do not know in advance their impact on reality, whether positive or negative, they may have undesirable repercussions.
I recall a story about an American bank before the advent of banking apps. This bank took the initiative to offer a nice service to retirees, especially the elderly, in a remote area far from major cities. Instead of customers visiting the bank, the bank would send an employee to deliver their pension at the end of each month. However, when the service was announced, the manager of one branch faced a crowd of protesters who said, “Don’t you want to see our faces, we retirees?” and “Do you want us to be locked in our homes waiting to die? Our happiness comes when we reach the bank branch and move around.” Naturally, the bank canceled the service immediately.
As for the “covering up” (istitrar) law recently announced, I have dubbed it the “Khash Shi” law because its name itself implies a crime. However, I know the concept of istitrar in the Gulf. For example, if you are a Kuwaiti citizen and ask a Gulf national in his country to buy shares in his name, but the shares actually belong to you, this is considered istitrar. Similarly, if he buys you a property in his Gulf country in his name rather than yours, this is also istitrar, which is prohibited by law and carries risks.
In Kuwait, the situation is different. For half a century, some citizens with limited incomes have obtained a commercial license in the name of their retired father or mother, and then lease it to a resident, such as a tailor, a miller, a grocery store owner, or others. The common practice is that the resident works and deposits his earnings into his own account, while the citizen bears no responsibility, except for an annual fee collected by the citizen and the sponsorship of the resident by the Ministry of Interior.
It is said that, according to our understanding, the new istitrar law considers the previous practice of leasing licenses as illegal. It is assumed that any daily income deposited into the account of the license-holding citizen should be tracked, which presents a major problem. Since the work is commercial (buying and selling), not just selling, if the money is deposited into the citizen’s account, how does the resident access it? Even if he manages to withdraw it and wants to deposit it in a bank, the bank will demand proof of the source of these funds. This leads us into a circle of transactions that may attract legal scrutiny. Additionally, one of the conditions is not to accept any cash amounts, but only through electronic transfers. This is another problematic issue.
Personally, I believe the Kuwaiti situation needs to be reformed. For example, we could propose allowing any resident to obtain a license in his own name, with a Kuwaiti sponsor, to work and pay the state a fixed annual fee according to the type of activity, thereby contributing to the state budget. The Kuwaiti sponsor’s responsibility would be limited solely to sponsoring the worker’s residency in the country, in exchange for a fee.
These are just ideas. However, new laws enacted without studying the existing situation and amending it will create major problems, driving specialized business owners away from the market and causing them to flee to other countries.
