Kuwait: $4 billion per year lost to corruption

Nearly 1.2 billion dinars ($4 billion) is lost annually to corruption in Kuwait, according chairman of the Kuwait Economic Society, Abdul Wahab Al Rasheed.

Al Rasheed said in a symposium, entitled ‘The Impact of Corruption on the National Economy’, organised by the Economic Society on Saturday.

Al Rashhed said the financial crisis gives Kuwait three options: resorting to public debt, direct withdrawal from the reserves of Future Generations Fund, or both.

He stressed that unless there is real economic reform, the consequences will be very serious, as the budget deficit in 2035 is expected to reach about 200 billion dinars (approximately $665 billion), which is almost the value of the sovereign fund’s assets.

Former MP Abdul Rahman Al Anjari said Kuwait has suffered during the past two decades from a significant rise in corruption, pointing out that Kuwait was one of the countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council that spent the least on capital projects at 7 per cent of the gross national product.