The Court of Cassation issued a final ruling that rejected the Public Prosecution appeal against the acquittal of former Defense Minister Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah in the high-profile graft case. This decision finalized the not-guilty verdicts for Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, former Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah and seven other defense ministry officials. Kuwait Times reported that the special ministers’ tribunal had reached the initial acquittal after months of deliberations on charges of embezzlement and facilitating graft.
Kuwait Times figures show the case centered on the disappearance of KD 157 million from an army fund valued at KD 240 million with all defendants having been detained for several months before release on bail during proceedings. The tribunal determined that the prosecution failed to prove the allegations against the group of current and former officials which included a former undersecretary and military attaches abroad. AP News noted that the matter had transfixed the country as one of the largest graft prosecutions involving senior ruling family members.
The Court of Cassation review marked the final step in a process that began with the 2019 discovery of the fund irregularities which contributed to the collapse of the government when ministers declined to answer parliamentary questions. AP News reported that many Kuwaitis viewed the case as a crucial test of accountability for corruption that has long undermined public trust in state institutions. The acquittal followed an unprecedented period of detention for the two royal family members before the trial phase.
Legal representatives told Kuwait Times that the ruling confirmed the absence of sufficient evidence linking the officials to any criminal activity in the complex fund transactions. The decision closes what had been described as Kuwait’s biggest graft case to reach the courts at that level. Subsequent years saw no further actions against the acquitted parties as the cassation rejection eliminated additional legal challenges.
AP News indicated that despite the outcome activists expressed disappointment that the highly publicized effort to address corruption yielded no convictions at the highest levels. The case had included gag orders on evidence presented in court limiting public understanding of the full proceedings. Kuwait Times added that the officials maintained throughout that all activities complied with applicable regulations at the time of the fund operations.
The final rejection of the prosecution appeal aligns with the tribunal’s original finding that the charges could not be substantiated against the former defense minister and his co-defendants. This resolution came after extensive review of defense ministry records and testimonies spanning multiple years. The outcome continues to inform discussions on judicial handling of sensitive financial cases involving government leadership.
