Latest news with #Al-Wawan
Arab Times
18-03-2025
- Business
- Arab Times
Businesswoman acquitted of real estate fraud & money laundering
KUWAIT CITY, March 18: The Court of Cassation acquitted a businesswoman of real estate fraud and money laundering in a case involving the sale of fake chalets in Khairan. The Court of Appeals had earlier sentenced the accused to five years in prison, and ordered her to pay KD30 million compensation. Attorney Ali Al-Wawan, lawyer for one of the appellants, appeared in court. He reaffirmed his defense argument in both the appeal memorandum and the Court of Cassation, stressing that the elements of fraud crime were not established in the incident. Al-Wawan also pointed out that the elements of money laundering crime were not established, because there was no underlying crime from which the funds were obtained. He said the dispute was civil and it was governed by the terms of the contracts between the parties. He stated that the Court of Cassation's ruling was based on the 'illuminating truth,' which established the absence of a fraudulent operation and that the incident did not constitute, in any way, a crime of fraud or theft of another's property. In its ruling, the Court of Cassation considered the incident a civil dispute governed by the terms of the contracts between the seller and buyer. 'Although there were some contractual obligations that the seller failed to fulfill in these contracts, the buyer had the right to file a civil suit against the seller, requesting rescission, refund of the amount paid and compensation, if justified,' the court explained. It added 'this led to the denial of the crime of money laundering, since the first crime, fraud, was not established, since the construction of chalets and offering them for sale are considered a real and natural project.'
Arab Times
24-02-2025
- Arab Times
Kuwaiti acquitted in duds check case
KUWAIT CITY, Feb 23: The Misdemeanor Section in the Court of Appeals overturned the ruling of a lower court that sentenced a citizen, in absentia, to two years in prison for issuing a dud check of KD 500,000 leading to his acquittal. Lawyer for the accused, Attorney Ali Al- Wawan, argued that the check was issued as part of a commercial agreement between the two parties, through which the complainant would import goods from an Asian country and the defendant would provide payment. When he cashed the check, the complainant discovered that the funds in the bank account of the citizen were insufficient; so he immediately filed a lawsuit against the citizen for breach of trust and issuance of dud check. Since the First Instance Court decided to convict the citizen in absentia , Al-Wawan pleaded before the Appeals Court and explained that the check drawn from the bank was in the name of his client; but there was an agreement between the two parties not to withdraw from the bank until the goods were delivered. He said this agreement was made in front of witnesses, but the complainant quickly went to the bank to cash the check and found that the balance was not enough for the amount mentioned in the check. Al-Wawan continued that his client did not receive the goods and there are no documents confirming receipt of the goods. He added his client admitted that the amount available in the bank was KD350,000 and this was confirmed through the bank statement, meaning he had no intention of committing fraud or deception, and that he asked the complainant for a period of time until the goods arrived in the country, after which he will deposit the remaining amount -- KD150,000.
