A national newspaper in Kuwait, Al Qabas, reported that the Kuwaiti Public Prosecution allowed eight judges to stand trial on an accusation of money laundering. This came as the first of its kind in Kuwait. The eight judges to be put on trial are allegedly linked to the Bnaider Network cases.
According to Al Qabas, quoting a source familiar with the issue, the trial will be open to the public. It will start after the judges are suspended from their positions, the source added. The newspaper also reported that the original case was closed and that the Public Prosecution issued a second file for the judges related to the Bnaider Network to the Criminal Court.
In July 2020, the Bahraini Ministry of Interior announced that a criminal enterprise linking to money laundering had been brought down. The move came following months-long monitoring and tracking of the criminal network, the statement added. Alongside Bahraini citizens, one Iranian, Fouad Salehi, was arrested due to involvement in money laundering.
According to the details being revealed after rescission of confidentiality of the file, it was discovered that some of the judges resigned and became the lawyer of the defendants. Also, it was detected that judges delivered “goodwill” messages to accused persons.
The decision to trial judges is the first in the history of the Kuwaiti judiciary. The judges were suspended, and their jurisdictions were frozen until the final verdict would be issued, according to information Al Qabas newspaper able to reach.
