KUWAIT CITY, July 29: The Criminal Court, under the direction of Counselor Nayef Al-Dahoum, has sentenced a leader from the Kuwait Oil Company and the CEO of an oil company to 10 years in prison with hard labor each.

Additionally, the court has imposed a joint fine of $92 million on them for charges of embezzling public funds. The Public Prosecution accused the first defendant, a public employee at Kuwait Oil Company, of facilitating the embezzlement of $46 million from his employer by allowing the second defendant’s company to fraudulently claim the funds.

This was achieved by inflating the work and services provided by the two companies involved. The second defendant was charged with conspiring and aiding the first defendant in the crime. He allegedly assisted by providing falsified service and work performance records, which were used to justify the improper disbursement of funds from Kuwait Oil Company. The fraudulent records allowed the first defendant to secure unjustified payments, leading to the crime as detailed in the investigation.

Clarification by KOC
Meanwhile, the Kuwait Oil Company has confirmed that the employee sentenced to prison by the Criminal Court today previously held a supervisory position as a team leader within the company. Following an internal investigation, the employee was dismissed from his position in 2020. The company subsequently filed a report against him with the Public Funds Prosecution after the charges were substantiated. The company clarified that the CEO involved in the same case is the head of a private-sector oil services company, which has no affiliation with the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation or its subsidiaries.

By Jaber Al-Hamoud, Munif Naif
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff and Agencies