‘Millions’ deposited in Kuwaiti MP accounts 


Millions of dollars have been deposited suspiciously into the bank accounts of 15 Kuwaiti MPs suspected of money laundering, reports citing informed sources said yesterday.
The central bank had told prosecutors that bank accounts held by the 15 lawmakers “have received suspicious deposits and the anti-money laundering law applies to them,” Al-Jarida newspaper reported.
The allegation, which could not be immediately confirmed, was widely reported in the oil-rich Gulf state’s media yesterday.
In September, the public prosecutor launched an unprecedented probe into the bank accounts of the 15 lawmakers after three banks informed him that large deposits were added to the accounts from unknown sources.
The case was one of several issues that forced former prime minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to resign this week.
Al-Jarida said the prosecutor planned to ask parliament to lift the immunity of the suspected MPs in order to question them in order to determine the source of the money.
The opposition has alleged that the funds, estimated at USD 350 million, were paid by the government to secure votes on crucial issues, including motions of no-confidence against the premier and his ministers.
The Kuwaiti government has denied the allegations.
Al-Jarida said the largest deposit for one MP was USD 7.3 million and USD 18.2 million in his wife’s account. No names were published in the report but media had published some names in September.
Central bank governor Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah said on Tuesday that the bank has written back to the prosecutor about the suspicious deposits without revealing details.