Kuwait arrests 24 in plot to fund terrorist activities

Dubai: Kuwait’s State Security Agency has arrested 24 citizens, including one whose citizenship has been revoked, after seizing sums of money linked to illicit activities. 

Authorities announced they had foiled a plot aimed at undermining national security and financing terrorist entities.

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The Ministry of Interior said on Saturday that the arrests were part of an organised operation involving the collection of funds under religious pretexts, which were later redirected for unlawful purposes.

Brigadier Nasser Bouslaib, spokesperson for the ministry, said eight additional citizens had been identified outside the country, including one whose citizenship had been revoked, as part of the same network.

According to investigators, the group gathered donations from individuals acting in good faith, believing the money would be channelled to legitimate causes. 

However, inquiries found that the funds had been diverted from their declared purposes and redirected to unauthorised entities, in a clear breach of trust.

Authorities also said the suspects used commercial and professional entities as fronts to facilitate the movement of funds, employing methods designed to avoid detection, including distributing cash among multiple couriers to transport it by air and land.

Legal action has been taken against those arrested, with the case referred to the competent authorities, while investigations continue to identify other individuals involved.

The Ministry of Interior said it would continue to act decisively against any attempts to threaten the country’s security or exploit its territory to support terrorist groups, stressing that all those implicated would be pursued in accordance with the law.