Kuwait Revokes Citizenship for 11 Amid Citizenship Forgery Probe

Kuwait has revoked the citizenship of 11 individuals as part of a sweeping investigation into a complex citizenship forgery scheme that initially involved two individuals who obtained Kuwaiti nationality in 1980 under false pretenses.

The intricate case came to light when the Nationality Investigations Department uncovered that the initial two individuals had secured citizenship based on fabricated statements, documents, and certificates. Subsequent investigations, including DNA testing, confirmed that their claims were fraudulent. This initial fraud ultimately led to 107 individuals obtaining Kuwaiti citizenship, comprising 76 born in 1945 and 31 born in 1947.

The investigation began when a Kuwaiti citizen, who had legally obtained his own citizenship, sought to add two individuals as his sons in 1980, following the issuance of Law No. 100/1980. As DNA testing was not widely available at the time, the applicant relied on official documents, estimated ages, and witness testimonies. Based on this evidence, the two individuals were granted Kuwaiti citizenship at the ages of 35 and 33.

However, suspicions arose months ago that these individuals were not the biological sons of the Kuwaiti citizen and that their citizenship was obtained through deceit. A review of the 1975 census, requested by the Criminal Investigation Department, revealed that two names matched the first names of the individuals who later obtained citizenship, but their other details aligned with those of a Bedoun person. By the 1980 census, these individuals were listed as Kuwaiti citizens. Further examination of the Bedoun individual's 1980 census records showed that the two individuals previously listed under his family were no longer associated with him, having been registered as sons of the Kuwaiti citizen.