Thousands of Pakistanis, Syrians, Iraqis granted Kuwaiti visas in exchange for bribes

As Kuwait's Public Prosecution continues an investigation into Bangladeshi MP Shahid Islam Papul's case of human trafficking and money laundering, it found new information that thousands of Pakistanis, Syrians, and Iraqis were also granted Kuwaiti visas in exchange for bribes.

About 5,000 Pakistanis entered Kuwait on family and visit visas between 2014 and 2018, despite strict rules on issuing visas to people from five countries -- Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq -- since 2011, reports Al Qabas today.

The daily, quoting sources, reported that visas were granted to a huge number of Pakistanis from mid- 2014 to 2018. Many Pakistanis took their families to Kuwait by paying bribes for visit visas and transferred those to family visa or to company residence because they are wanted by the authorities of their countries.

The public prosecution also found that at least one thousand Iraqis entered Kuwait on family visas and visit visas, and most of those were granted in exchange for bribes from 2014 to 2018.

It reported that the citizens of these countries were granted visas for working in "made-up" companies. The fees charged for the visas ranged between 800 and 2,500 dinars, depending on nationality.

The charges for Egyptian workers were between Kuwaiti Dinar (KD) 1,200 and 1,500; KD 800 to 1,100 for Bangladeshi workers depending on occupations and KD 2,000 to 2,500 for the Syrians, Al Qabas reported.

It was not clear if the visas of the Pakistanis, Egyptians, Syrians, and Iraqis granted by Kuwaiti authorities were linked to Papul's company.