A Kuwaiti man who has been sentenced in absentia to a seven-year prison term for embezzling money from the State is said to be seeking political asylum in France.
The man who worked in Kuwait Municipality, was sentenced along with his Syrian accomplice, for defrauding the municipality by illegally selling land to companies for quarrying sand. Last week the Criminal Court in sentencing the two men had fined them with a total of over KD1 billion — so far the largest penalty in the history of Kuwait judiciary. The court ordered the two to return to the State KD370 million, which they had embezzled through forgery, and also ordered them to pay double that amount (KD740 million) in fines.
The Kuwaiti fugitive who managed to slip out of the country seven months ago on the pretext of medical treatment in France, has now sought political asylum there claiming that he was being hunted by the government because of his political views.
The case has reportedly been handed over to Interpol to ensure his arrest and return to the country, since Kuwait has an extradition treaty with France.
