Expired passport unmasks 25-year-old citizenship forgery
Investigation leads to a shocking discovery, part of an illegal identity trade; case adds to a growing list of incidents where names — often belonging to nonexistent individuals — were inserted into family files for sale
A routine review by Kuwait’s Nationality Investigation Department has exposed a citizenship forgery that went undetected for a quarter of a century —triggered by an expired passport issued in 1995.
Informed sources told Al-Rai, that the authorities noticed irregularities in the nationality file of a supposed citizen born in the 1950s. The individual had obtained a Kuwaiti passport in 1995, but after it expired in 2000, there was no record of activity or interaction with any government service — a red flag that led to closer scrutiny.
Prompted by the suspicious dormancy, investigators summoned the alleged passport holder’s “brothers,” listed as sons of the same father. During questioning, they admitted that the name was fictitious — a fraudulent entry added by their now-deceased father decades ago, intended to be sold for profit as part of an illegal identity trade.
The revelation confirmed that the name had never belonged to a real person, and that it had been inactive for 25 years — long enough to have gone unnoticed if not for the department’s systematic reviews.
As a result of the investigation, the citizenship associated with the fictitious name was officially revoked. Authorities emphasized that this step was taken as a precaution to prevent the file from being reused or exploited in the future by potential impersonators or traffickers.
The sources stressed that the Nationality Investigation Department routinely audits nationality records, especially those showing signs of inactivity, to uncover forgeries and maintain the integrity of the national registry.
This case adds to a growing list of incidents where names — often belonging to nonexistent individuals — were inserted into family files for sale, enabling individuals to illegally obtain Kuwaiti citizenship and the privileges it entails. Officials have vowed to continue tightening controls and utilizing fingerprint databases to root out such fraudulent registrations.
Kuwaiti authorities reaffirmed their commitment to preserving the sanctity of national identity and ensuring that any misuse of citizenship records is swiftly addressed.
