Baghdad: The Kuwaiti Criminal Court sentenced two Iraqis and three Egyptians to three years in prison for their involvement in a case related to trafficking money transfers from members of the Egyptian community in Kuwait. The well-known case highlighted illegal financial operations within the country.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the Kuwaiti court acquitted all other defendants of laundering 55 million dinars and ordered the confiscation of the seized funds. The case emerged when Kuwaiti authorities arrested an Egyptian expatriate found with 50,000 Kuwaiti dinars in cash. Subsequent investigations revealed a network of Iraqis and Egyptians conducting illegal money transfers.

Investigations by the Kuwaiti Public Prosecution indicated that the network targeted the Egyptian community in Kuwait, which numbers approximately 600,000 people. The network collected cash from community members and transferred it to Egypt and other countries through unofficial channels, circumventing licensed banks and exchange companies.

The network employed a parallel financial system that relied on unregistered remittances, commonly known as "hawala," allowing them to transfer large sums of money without the oversight of the Central Bank of Kuwait. The court noted that these activities pose risks to the national economy and could facilitate suspicious transactions potentially linked to money laundering or financing illegal activities.

Despite the initial accusation of laundering 55 million dinars, the court found insufficient evidence to convict on this charge. Instead, they found five individuals guilty of illegally trading in remittances.