Kuwaiti Ex-Minister Gets 3 Years for Secret Expenditures, Faces 14 Years in Embezzlement Case

Kuwait's former minister Sheikh Talal Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah has been sentenced to three years in prison and fined 3,000 dinars ($9,700) by the Court of Cassation. The conviction relates to incidents involving secret expenditures during his tenure.

Sheikh Talal, 59, held significant positions, including First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior from October 16, 2022, to January 17, 2024. Prior to that, he served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense from March 9, 2022, to October 16, 2022.

This recent sentence follows a January 14, 2025, ruling by Kuwait's Ministers Court. In that case, Sheikh Talal was handed a 14-year prison sentence for embezzling funds from both the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Interior. He was ordered to return approximately 10 million dinars and fined 20 million dinars. The earlier ruling detailed a seven-year jail term for the Ministry of Defense expenditures, requiring him to return 500,000 dinars and pay a one million dinar fine, along with dismissal from his post. An expatriate co-defendant received a four-year sentence, a fine, and expulsion from Kuwait. For the Ministry of Interior expenditures, Sheikh Talal received another seven-year sentence, an order to return 9 million dinars, and a 19 million dinar fine.