The Nationality Investigations Department uncovered the fraud following a confidential tip that prompted a review of the citizenship file belonging to a man born in 1940. Official records show the individual died on April 26, 1970 at age 30, yet a civil identification document was issued in his name in 1987 to another person. The absence of fully integrated electronic systems between the Nationality Department and the Births and Deaths Registry at the time enabled the deception to persist for decades, informed security sources said. The impostor proceeded to register multiple children under the stolen identity.
Forensic experts performed an age assessment that determined the suspect was born around 1960, indicating he is currently about 66 years old rather than the 86 years reflected in the fraudulent records. This scientific evidence, combined with other documentation, left no doubt about the extent of the identity theft, according to the department’s assessment. The findings were forwarded to the Higher Committee for Citizenship Investigation for action.
The Higher Committee subsequently revoked the Kuwaiti citizenship of the impostor and all 20 of his dependents, the Nationality Investigations Department announced. The decision aligns with provisions of the Nationality Law that target those who illegally added non-biological individuals to citizenship files, a ministry statement indicated. Officials noted that the case exemplifies how some frauds evaded detection due to outdated record-keeping practices.
The Nationality Investigations Department also exposed a scheme in which three brothers from a Gulf state each assumed different Kuwaiti identities over 50 years ago, a case that affected 264 individuals. DNA testing on the children established that they were cousins, verifying that their fathers were in fact full brothers. The first accused accounted for 86 dependents, the second for 115 and the third for 63, department figures show.
The Supreme Committee for Nationality Affairs has utilized DNA fingerprinting extensively in such probes to clarify biological connections in disputed files. This approach has led to the revocation of citizenship in numerous instances where individuals were found to lack genuine ties, committee records indicate. Similar investigations have examined legacy naturalization cases dating back to the 1970s.
Kuwait’s Public Authority for Civil Information figures place the expatriate population at roughly 3.3 million, adding complexity to verifying identities across government departments. The department continues to process similar legacy cases, with several involving forged family registrations that spanned generations. Further revocations are expected as additional files undergo forensic examination.
