Cairo: Kuwait has said security authorities arrested a 33-member gang involved in forging official documents.
The members of the gang - all Filipinos - used to forge official documents for their compatriots to present to the agencies concerned in Kuwait, the country’s Interior Ministry said.
The ring was uncovered and the members arrested by the ministry’s Criminal Security Directorate in cooperation with the Foreign Ministry and the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait.
Forged official documents seized in possession of the gangsters included education certificates, marriage contracts, and driving licence certificates, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
It added that the suspects had made detailed confessions during investigations that forging marriage contracts aimed to help transfer the employee’s residency permit from a house worker to a dependent to be able to transfer the iqama to an employer company.
“The accused also admitted that the goal of forging educational certificates was to meet the required conditions for obtaining an entry visa to the European countries,” the ministry said.
The suspects, moreover, told investigators that forging driving licences aimed to facilitate procedures for obtaining the licence in Kuwait that requires the applicant to present a driving licence certificate issued by the home country.
The ministry vowed firmness in dealing with violators of Kuwait’s laws.
Last May, Kuwait said a ban it earlier imposed on issuing visas for Filipino workers remains in place after Kuwaiti and Philippine officials had failed to resolve a labour row.
Kuwait announced suspending the issuance of all visas for Filipino workers in reaction to what it said Philippine authorities’ failure to comply with a labour agreement previously reached between the two countries.
