A civil servant from Kuwait was sentenced to five years in prison for having received a salary for ten years without showing up for work, being penalized with the restitution of the amount received.

A public official in Kuwait was recently sentenced to five years in prison and fined 1 million dollars for having received a monthly salary for ten years without showing up for work. The case has been considered one of the most serious acts of administrative corruption in the country, drawing attention to the vulnerabilities of the public salary system. The official, who worked in the citizen services department, continued to receive a salary without fulfilling his duties, and his absence was discovered only later. The court ruled that he must repay double the amount received, highlighting the efforts of the Kuwaiti government to combat salary fraud.

This incident aligns with other international cases, such as a teacher in Germany who received a salary for 16 years without working and an official in Spain who was absent for six years. These situations underscore the need for more rigorous internal controls and the digitization of salary systems to prevent abuses. Authorities in Kuwait intend to intensify monitoring and impose severe penalties to protect the public budget, hoping that the example of this convicted official will deter other attempts at fraud.