Kuwait’s Cassation Court has sentenced former Minister Mubarak Al-Aro, former Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Affairs Abdulaziz Shuaib, the former head of the Federation of Associations, and a Gulf merchant to seven years in prison.
This ruling comes as part of a case involving the misuse of a tender for artificial intelligence in cooperative societies’ goods.
In November last year, the Court of Ministers found Al-Aro, Shuaib, former director of the Federation of Associations Abdulaziz Asad, and a company owner guilty.
Each was sentenced to seven years in prison with hard labor, along with dismissal from their positions, for benefiting from a contract signed with the company.
On May 2, Kuwait’s Court of Cassation rejected Al-Aro’s appeal and his request for release. The court ordered his arrest, along with former MP Mubarak Zaid Al-Aro Al-Mutairi, upon his return to Kuwait.
Earlier, on April 28, the Kuwaiti Court of Appeals overturned a two-year prison sentence against Al-Aro and his brother for vote-buying in the 2022 parliamentary elections. The lower court had initially sentenced Al-Aro to two years in prison and two of his campaign workers to one year.
Two other defendants were fined 2,000 dinars each.
In a separate case, the Criminal Court ordered the arrest and detention of former MP Hamad Al-Alayan on state security charges for criticizing the Emir’s authority. Al-Alayan appeared in court and denied the charges.
The court also sentenced former MP Abdullah Fahad to six months in prison for insulting the judiciary during a televised interview and fined the interview organizer 500 dinars (around $1,600).
Moreover, Kuwait’s Court of Cassation has postponed the verdict in the country’s largest money-laundering case, known as the “Malaysian Fund,” to June 27.
Public Prosecution reopened the “Malaysian Fund” case after a two-year pause due to delays in receiving information from international sources.
On March 28, 2023, the Criminal Court sentenced a member of the ruling family and his partners, including two expatriates, to 10 years in prison.
A lawyer involved in the case received a seven-year sentence. The court also ordered them to return $1 billion and fined them a total of 145 million Kuwaiti dinars (approximately $500 million).
