Criminal Court sentences retired Syrian soldier to 12 years for forging Kuwaiti citizenship

The Criminal Court (Second Circuit) has sentenced a retired Syrian soldier to 12 years in prison and imposed a fine of 961,000 Kuwaiti dinars after convicting him of forging Kuwaiti citizenship and unlawfully benefiting from state privileges over several decades.

The court found that the accused had falsely claimed kinship with a deceased Kuwaiti citizen, exploiting an agreement made in 1984 between his father and the deceased, in which the latter accepted money in exchange for adding the name of the accused to official records as a relative.

Using this fake identity, the defendant obtained Kuwaiti nationality, secured employment at the Ministry of Defense, and eventually retired with full benefits, including monthly salaries, a pension, and rent allowances. The court noted that the accused had illegally collected state funds during his time under the assumed identity.

In addition to these financial gains, the accused attempted to acquire a government residential plot, though no construction order was issued, preventing further misuse of state resources in this regard.

The court ordered that the total amount of funds misappropriated —exceeding 961,000 dinars —be repaid, in addition to the fine, as part of the legal and financial consequences of the fraud.