From Iraqi Tribal Leader To Kuwaiti Citizen: 164 Individuals Added To His Fraudulent File

Arab Times

17-04-2025

KUWAIT CITY, April 17: What once seemed like an impenetrable web of forgery has now been fully exposed by Kuwait's determined and coordinated security forces. Through meticulous investigation and cooperation between the State Security Service, Military Intelligence, and the Nationality Investigation Department, a complex case of fraudulent citizenship dating back to 1965 has been brought to light, revealing an elaborate scheme that ultimately led to the revocation of Kuwaiti nationality from 164 individuals.
The story began in 1965 when a man applied for Kuwaiti citizenship under Article 1 of the nationality law, which allows citizenship for those whose fathers were in Kuwait before 1920. Based solely on the testimony of witnesses, the man claimed his father met the criteria. When questioned by the authorities at the time, he claimed that his father had passed away and that he had no siblings or paternal uncles. With no further verification, he was granted citizenship.
The deception didn't stop there. In 1970, feeling secure in his false identity, the man brought one of his actual brothers to Kuwait and, once again with the help of witness testimonies, succeeded in having him naturalized under Article 1. He repeated this process in 1973, bringing in yet another brother who falsely claimed he had been living in the desert and now wanted to join his "Kuwaiti" brothers. Witnesses, including some members of the National Assembly at the time, attested to his story. The pattern continued until all six brothers were granted Kuwaiti citizenship based on a false ancestral claim.
However, in 1982, the first and central figure in the scheme abruptly left Kuwait and returned to his homeland, the Anbar Governorate in Iraq. There, he resumed his life under his real identity as a tribal sheikh, remarried, and started a new family. He never returned to Kuwait. Investigators later discovered that he had been killed in Iraq approximately 15 years ago.
Years later, the Nationality Investigation Department began re-examining old files and uncovered the depth of the fraud. They identified the man's real name, obtained his Iraqi death certificate, and tracked down his son from his Iraqi wife. DNA tests were conducted and compared to the brothers still living in Kuwait. The results confirmed their biological relationship and exposed the fraudulent claim of Kuwaiti ancestry. One key piece of evidence was an Iraqi passport that revealed his true identity and origin.
Adding another layer to the investigation, officials discovered a document from 1992 written by a Kuwaiti liaison officer stationed at the Kuwaiti embassy in Abu Dhabi. It identified the original forger as an Iraqi national and a member of the Ba'ath Party. The document also confirmed that he had entered Kuwait with the Iraqi Popular Army during the 1990 invasion, despite officially having left Kuwait a decade earlier in 1982.
Under the direction of Acting Prime Minister Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti authorities coordinated with Iraqi officials to verify the man's background. Their efforts confirmed that the man had been born in Anbar, Iraq, and had never been eligible for Kuwaiti citizenship. As a result, the Supreme Committee decided to revoke the citizenship of the original forger, his five brothers, their dependents, and others who were granted nationality based on the same fraudulent file. In total, 164 people lost their Kuwaiti citizenship, including several wives who had obtained it under Article 8.
In a final twist, it was revealed that one of the five brothers, who had himself obtained citizenship fraudulently, had also provided false testimony to support another individual's naturalization. That person's citizenship had already been revoked several months earlier in a related case.
This case serves as one of the most complex and far-reaching examples of citizenship fraud in Kuwait's history, and a testament to the effectiveness of coordinated investigative efforts by the nation's security forces.