Seven get life in 147-million-dinar ports fund corruption, embezzlement case
The Criminal Court has handed down life imprisonment sentences to seven accused men, five Kuwaitis and two Americans, in a major financial corruption case involving the alleged embezzlement of public funds linked to the Ports Fund.
The court also imposed monetary fines totaling 147 million dinars, comprising a 98-million-dinar fine and an additional 49-million-dinar ordered as restitution to be repaid to the state, marking one of the most significant rulings in a public monetary corruption case in recent years.
According to case details, the accused were referred to trial after being accused of siphoning funds from an investment portfolio jointly held by the Public Institution for Social Security and the Kuwait Ports Authority.
The Public Prosecution charged the group, including the former director of the Ports Authority’s investment fund, with deliberately harming public assets through a coordinated scheme involving sham transactions and fabricated legal claims, Al-Anba reports.
Investigations revealed that the defendants filed multiple fictitious lawsuits and arbitration cases across international jurisdictions, including Dubai, the United States, and the Cayman Islands, in an attempt to unlawfully obtain financial gains from the fund.
Authorities said the scheme was built around an investment management agreement signed in 2016, which was allegedly misused to justify inflated claims, fabricated fees, and interest demands submitted before the Dubai International Financial Centre courts.
The court concluded that the defendants exploited legal and financial structures to misappropriate public assets, describing the operation as a calculated attempt to divert state-linked investment funds through deceptive cross-border litigation.
