KUWAIT CITY, Oct 16: The Court of Appeal has sentenced a gang involved in residency trafficking to imprisonment. The ruling was made by Counselor Nasr Salem Al-Haid, with Counselors Saud Al-Sanea and Tariq Metwally as members.

In a historic move, the Court of Appeal utilized a gavel for the first time to maintain order during the case hearing. The court denied requests to suspend the imprisonment sentences and release the accused individuals in its initial ruling.

The Public Prosecution charged the first defendant, an inspector, with accepting a bribe of 2,000 dinars from the second, third, and fourth defendants to expedite inspection procedures for a company owned by the third defendant. The second defendant was accused of aiding and facilitating the bribe, while the third defendant directly provided the bribe. The fourth defendant was charged with mediating the bribe and falsifying documents to register additional workers.

Additionally, the second, third, and fourth defendants were accused of assisting foreigners in obtaining residency in exchange for money. The fifth and sixth defendants faced charges of mediating for these foreigners, while the seventh to ninth defendants were accused of acquiring residency for monetary compensation.

The case arose when a company was fined for the closure of a facility, prompting the first accused inspector to reassess the situation. She confirmed the site’s readiness multiple times in exchange for a 2,000-dinar bribe to amend the violations and increase the number of workers, thus selling residencies. The prosecution established that part of the bribe was transferred to her through bank transactions, with residency prices ranging between 1,000 and 1,500 dinars each.

Previously, the Criminal Court sentenced the first defendant, along with the second, third, and fourth defendants, to five years in prison and imposed a fine of 4,000 dinars. The court acquitted the fifth, eighth, and ninth defendants, while the sixth defendant was fined 500 dinars. The Court of Appeal upheld the prison sentences for the first to fourth defendants and sentenced the seventh to ninth defendants to one year in prison for purchasing forged residencies.