Kuwait strips money laundering convict of citizenship

Cairo: A man convicted in several cases of real estate fraud and money laundering has been stripped of Kuwaiti citizenship, as the country has recently withdrawn its nationality from hundreds of people for different reasons.

An edict has been issued withdrawing Kuwaiti national from the convict in “serving the state’s interest and external security,” reported Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qabas without elaborating.The order has also stipulated that his dependents, who might have earlier obtained Kuwaiti citizenship, will lose it too.

The Kuwaiti government has recently approved amendments to a law tightening the granting of its citizenship to foreigners.This week, a government citizenship verification committee agreed to withdraw nationality from 198 more persons. The decision will now be presented to the Council of Ministers. Details about these cases are not available yet.

Kuwait, a country of around 4.9 million people mostly expatriates, launched a clampdown on citizenship fraud some months ago. The country has withdrawn its citizenship from hundreds of people since early March due to fraud or holding another nationality, according to media reports. Dual citizenship is banned in Kuwait.

The Kuwaiti Interior Ministry has set up a hotline to receive reports about holders of citizenship obtained through forgery.

The ministry’s General Directorate of Nationality and Travel Documents has urged members of the public with information on forged or dual nationals to report it via the hotline for verification, promising the whistleblowers full secrecy.