KUWAIT CITY, Feb 22: In a bizarre case of identity fraud, the Nationality Investigations Department uncovered a decades-old deception in which a Kuwaiti woman falsely registered her son as her brother to obtain citizenship benefits. Investigations revealed that the woman, a Kuwaiti national, was married to a Saudi citizen who later divorced her and returned to his country, unaware that she was pregnant at the time. Instead of notifying her ex-husband and registering the child under his Saudi citizenship, she colluded with her father to falsely register the child as his own, effectively making the boy her legal brother under Kuwaiti law.

The fraudulent registration occurred in 1996, and the deception remained undetected for nearly three decades. However, recent investigations exposed the scheme, leading to the arrest of both the mother and her son for falsifying the father’s citizenship records. During interrogation, both confessed to their crime, and their statements were confirmed through DNA testing. Authorities also discovered that the mother’s father, who had falsely claimed the child as his own, had fled Kuwait. His name has been circulated through Interpol for international arrest. The case has now been referred to the Public Prosecution, and legal proceedings are underway against those involved in this extraordinary case of identity fraud.