The Sentences Renewal Judge has decided to extend the custody of 12 Egyptians and 7 Kuwaitis, including an officer in the Ministry of Interior with the rank of colonel for another two weeks on accusations of human trafficking. Investigations are ongoing against the men, who are charged with bringing expats into the country in exchange for money.
The visa trading racket came to light when expats came forward during the amnesty for residency visa violators in April 2020, and some of them complained during interrogations that they were cheated by their employers, who they paid money for visas but were not given jobs. The Ministry of Interior offered amnesty for residency law violators to leave the country without paying fines and their trip was sponsored by the Government.
The expats revealed that they were abandoned on the streets to fend for themselves and in some cases, money was demanded to renew their residence permits. In the context, the Public Prosecution is looking into other reports it has received from the Ministry of the Interior against the expatriates and citizens whose companies’ files were recently referred to the Public Prosecution Office. They stand accused of bringing into the country thousands of workers and not providing them jobs, according to the confessions of some visa violators during investigations conducted by the Ministry of Interior.