The Kuwaiti Court of Cassation has sentenced former Minister of Social Affairs Mubarak Al-Arou, a former undersecretary in the Ministry of Social Affairs, a former president of the Cooperative Societies Union, and another citizen to 7 years in prison after proving that they gained profits through a contract awarded to a specific company without following legal procedures. The court deemed that the defendants deserved this penalty for their involvement in profiting and violation of laws, according to the newspaper "Al-Qabas," on Thursday.
This decision followed a permanent investigation committee for the trial of ministers, which attributed to the four defendants the acquisition of profit and benefit from a contract awarded to a local company. The court imposed imprisonment with hard labor, execution, and dismissal from their positions.
It is noteworthy that the Ministerial Court, chaired by Counselor Hani Al-Hamadan, sentenced both Mubarak Al-Arou and the former undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Affairs, and the former director of the Union of Cooperative Societies to 7 years in prison with hard labor and dismissal from their jobs on November 21, 2023. The fourth defendant, the owner of the company, received the same sentence along with deportation from the country (as he holds Gulf nationality), according to the newspaper "Asharq Al-Awsat."
Additionally, Al-Arou was accused of colluding with the company owned by the fourth defendant to sign a contract that included a system for monitoring products in cooperative societies; however, the contract was not executed, which was the primary charge, considering the contract merely a façade for profiting at the expense of public funds.
About him: Mubarak Zaid Al-Arou Al-Mutairi (46 years old) served as a member of the Kuwaiti National Assembly in 2020. He also held the position of Minister of Social Affairs and Community Development and Minister of State for Housing Affairs and Urban Development from December 28, 2021, to August 1, 2022.
