KOC refers many officials to prosecution in ‘graft crimes’

Funds embezzled, illegal profits made

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 2, (KUNA): Kuwait Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) on Sunday announced referring a number of officials at Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), along “with others,” to the public prosecution.

They were submitted to the prosecution in line with a notification, filed by the KOC about suspicious “corruption crimes” that incurred losses, Nazaha said, adding that the suspects were charged with negligence and slackness in management of projects in North Kuwait.

Dr Mohammad Bouzbar, Nazaha’s official spokesman and the authority assistant secretary general, said in a statement that the notification included results of a panel tasked with investigating and examining remarks by the Audit Bureau for the fiscal year (2017-2018) regarding contracts and projects of crude oil pipelines in northern regions.

Dr Bouzbar noted that the report mentioned suspected corruption crimes, worth KD 4.683 million (USD 15.4 million). Based on results of the investigations, collection of evidences and witnesses’ testimonies, there were suspicious crimes of facilitating seizure of public funds, intentional and non-intentional misappropriation of public funds, illegal profit making and aiding others to make such earnings.

These crimes are stipulated in the Law 1/1993 on protection of public funds; considered among the corruption crimes, according to Article 22 of the Law 2/2016 with respect of establishing the Anti-Corruption Public Authority and rules on revelation of financial assets.