Kuwait Court Jails Female Staff to 7 Years for $875,000 Health Fraud

Published February 19th, 2019 - 01:02 GMT
(Shutterstock/ File Photo)
(Shutterstock/ File Photo)

The Criminal Court presided over by Judge Mohammad Ghazi has sentenced a former Kuwaiti employee of the Accounts Division of Kuwaiti Health Office in Washington to seven-year imprisonment, ordered her to refund the misappropriated $875,000, imposed a fine of double that amount, and relieved of her job.

The court also sentenced another Kuwaiti employee of the same office to one-year imprisonment and ordered payment of KD 1,000 for suspending the execution of the verdict until the final ruling is pronounced.

The court ordered the submission of a copy of the investigations conducted on the embezzlements in the Health Office based on the allegation of a member of the royal family who holds a senior position there and whose name was mentioned as a beneficiary of some funds due to a claim of treatment.

It will be recalled that former Health minister Dr Jamal Al-Obaidi had referred the woman employee and two other employees for investigation in December last year over misappropriation of funds.

Prior to that, the CIA held the woman for a few months ago on charges of money laundering and remitting suspicious funds prior to leaving Washington.

This article has been adapted from its original source.

Subscribe

Sign up to our newsletter for exclusive updates and enhanced content