Court details misappropriation of thousands of dinars in case against ‘royal’

Kuwait's Court of Cassation has issued a final ruling in the high-profile "Ministry of Defense Expenses" case, sentencing former Minister of Defense and Interior Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled to three years imprisonment with hard labor.

The court affirmed the charges related to the misappropriation of KD 589,500 from the special expenses budget of the Ministry of Defense. Evidence presented included testimonies, investigations, and expenditure receipts. The court found that Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled, in his capacity as minister, authorized the disbursement of these funds to a second defendant who was not authorized to receive them. The funds were deposited into the second defendant's bank account through numerous transactions, which the court deemed an attempt to conceal their origin and nature.

These funds were subsequently transferred to members of the first defendant's family and others. The court emphasized that public funds designated for special expenses must be used for legally defined purposes and cannot be given to individuals without an official connection to the ministry. The defense's claims that the funds originated from personal investments were rejected due to a lack of supporting evidence.

However, the court acquitted Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled of charges related to the embezzlement of KD 9,572,339 from the Ministry of Interior's secret expenditures. The court stated that the evidence did not meet the threshold for conclusive proof. It explained that the nature of secret expenditures, involving national security considerations, exempts the minister from disclosing specific details of fund allocation, and relevant laws prohibit the disclosure of classified operations.

Notably, Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled returned the full amount of KD 589,000 before the verdict. This repayment, along with the minor nature of the damage as per the Public Funds Protection Law, led the court to limit the sentence to three years and annul penalties related to dismissal from office and proportional fines. The second defendant also received a three-year sentence and faces deportation.