Kuwait court jails minister, officials over faulty generator scandal
Kuwait court jails minister, officials over faulty generator scandal
Kuwait's minister of electricity, Ahmad al-Jassar, has submitted his resignation after a court sentenced him and other officials to a two-year jail term over a faulty generators scandal in 2007.
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Kuwait's Minister of Electricity Ahmad al-Jassar was sentenced to 2 years in jail. [AFP/Getty]
A Kuwaiti court has sentenced Ahmad al-Jassar, minister of electricity water and public works, along with 14 other current and former officials, to two years in prison over a dubious deal dating back to 2007.
They were also each fined 20,000 KD ($66,000).
The cabinet issued a statement following its weekly meeting to announce that Jassar had submitted his resignation to the prime minister.
Jassar did not attend Tuesday's cabinet meeting according to Anadolu news agency.
The story goes back to the emergency power plan of the summer of 2007, when 400 million KD ($1.2 billion) of state treasury funds were spent on acquiring additional electricity generators to deal with a projected shortfall in power production.
The public funds were used without an Emiri decree for emergencies, and without the knowledge of the National Assembly.
The emergency plan was implemented amid accusations that senior corrupt officials were behind it, particularly when it became clear that the 1974 model generators were faulty. The ministry of electricity has not been able to run them yet.
Since 2007, blame has been directed at 16 Kuwaiti officials, including Audit Bureau undersecretary Abdul Aziz al-Roumi who was acquitted by the court earlier this week.
They were also each fined 20,000 KD ($66,000).
The cabinet issued a statement following its weekly meeting to announce that Jassar had submitted his resignation to the prime minister.
Jassar did not attend Tuesday's cabinet meeting according to Anadolu news agency.
The story goes back to the emergency power plan of the summer of 2007, when 400 million KD ($1.2 billion) of state treasury funds were spent on acquiring additional electricity generators to deal with a projected shortfall in power production.
The public funds were used without an Emiri decree for emergencies, and without the knowledge of the National Assembly.
The emergency plan was implemented amid accusations that senior corrupt officials were behind it, particularly when it became clear that the 1974 model generators were faulty. The ministry of electricity has not been able to run them yet.
Since 2007, blame has been directed at 16 Kuwaiti officials, including Audit Bureau undersecretary Abdul Aziz al-Roumi who was acquitted by the court earlier this week.
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