KUWAIT CITY, Nov 21: Kuwait's campaign against forged citizenship has gained momentum, with the Supreme Committee for the Investigation of Kuwaiti Nationality escalating its efforts to review and scrutinize cases. During its recent meeting, chaired by Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Defense and Interior Sheikh Fahd Al-Youssef, the committee decided to revoke Kuwaiti citizenship from 1,647 individuals, bringing the total number of cases reviewed since October 31 to 4,601.

In a related development,  310 individuals from two families' citizenship have been revoked. Investigations uncovered that these individuals, originally of Syrian nationality, fraudulently obtained Kuwaiti citizenship. The Nationality Investigations Department detailed that the fraud involved forged birth certificates from abroad, wherein one legitimate child’s certificate was duplicated to falsely register a “twin.” Upon returning to Kuwait, the forged twin was registered under the Kuwaiti citizen’s name for monetary compensation.

The investigation also led to the revocation of citizenship from the key file holders, their spouses, children, and grandchildren. The sources added that some individuals involved in this case were relatives by origin and co-conspirators in the forgery.

Many suspects have fled the country as authorities continue to trace and restrict files related to forgery. Efforts remain in full swing to apprehend the remaining individuals involved in forging Kuwaiti nationality.

Additionally, an official supplement published in the Kuwait Alyom newspaper included a decision from the Supreme Committee to strip five individuals of their nationality under Article 11 of Amiri Decree No. 15 of 1959, which governs Kuwaiti nationality laws.