KUWAIT is taking significant steps in the right direction to deal with the money laundering file. The First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, and Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef Al-Sabah has been closely monitoring this issue and giving it great attention.
This reflects his keenness to cleanse the economic and financial environment of all suspicions and to close all loopholes in the laws governing financial operations.
This undoubtedly means that the country is moving towards economic and commercial stability, and has begun to get rid of practices that have negatively affected its international reputation.
This effort is crucial, especially since looters have turned it into a window for financial corruption. Through some forex and travel agents, they are able to quickly launder the money they obtained through fraudulent means, with the help of corrupt officials.
In this regard, many financial crimes were committed to finance terrorist groups abroad. Some criminals falsely claimed to manage the fund portfolios of heads of state and senior officials in either their own country or other countries. These claims enabled the perpetrators to seize money and assets from citizens and regional traders, after which some of these criminals fled to countries they believed would serve as safe havens.
One of the vital measures announced by the Minister of Interior concerning this issue is coordination with Interpol to extradite these criminals to be tried in Kuwait, and in the countries that they harmed economically.
This occurred because the looters either believed they were above the law or did not expect to be held accountable. The reason for this could be the failure to develop the laws, due to which they committed the most heinous crimes and fled abroad.
Even though we appreciate Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef’s efforts in this regard, this does not exempt the Council of Ministers from starting a legal workshop to close all loopholes in the Money Laundering Law No. 106/2013.
This need for reform is underscored by recent revelations from the press, particularly Al-Seyassah daily, which has been investigating for a month the methods that criminals use to move suspicious money out of the country and the fraudulent operations involved.
Many forex offices and some travel and tourism agencies are exploiting the legal loopholes to engage in fraudulent activities. These operations are often linked to individuals who present themselves as “businesspersons” but are actually looters. Their methods have been exposed, such as manipulating company ledgers and invoices to link their laundering operations of the stolen money, or by inflating revenues.
They are assisted by professionals of their own nationality, who act as their support network. The crimes uncovered in recent years have revealed new methods of evasion that the current legal framework has not yet addressed.
Sabotaging an economy and driving institutions to collapse often involves exploitation of legal loopholes for malicious purposes. Many money launderers, acting under the direction of certain intelligence agencies, engage in these activities to sabotage the economies of stable countries and achieve the malicious goals of terrorist groups.
Therefore, we appreciate the efforts exerted by the First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, and Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef in this regard for protecting Kuwait’s national security. This requires quickly arresting criminals and bringing them to trial, and recovering the money they have looted. Also, the law must be amended to eradicate all loopholes that can hinder this great effort.
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
