KUWAIT: The Ministry of Interior yesterday issued a warrant to arrest a citizen wanted by an Asian country over accusations of selling oil to it on behalf of Kuwait and receiving KD 200,000 as a down payment for the supply contract signed with it. The Asian company's lawyer Howra Al-Habib said a contract had been signed with the defendant to provide the company with Kuwaiti oil and that he vanished after receiving the down payment. "How far are going with regards to fraud cases? Can fraud go as far as selling our 'black gold'?" Habib asked in the brief she submitted to the public prosecution.

In another case, a stateless person was arrested on arrival from Ukraine, where he was studying, to face a 30-month prison sentence handed in absentia over fraud charges. Case papers indicate that the defendant met an expat girl whose father works as a consultant in a ministry, and promised to get married to her. Through such a trick, he managed to get over KD 10,000 from the girl, who was clever enough not to give him the money in cash, but gave him an ATM card so that whenever he used it, he was caught on the bank's surveillance cameras to provide solid evidence against him.

Separately, criminal detectives busted a network that conned citizens and expats by calling them to divulge details of their bank cards, then stealing their money. A Pakistani woman who worked with the gang was arrested, while the rest of members are being sought. A police source said a Pakistani woman was making deposits daily and the account had ballooned to a point that made detectives act, until they found she is a member of a gang that stole from people's accounts. The gang used to call victims informing them they won a monthly draw and asked for account information, then transferred the money to the suspect account. The Pakistani woman said she made the deposits in favor a man who has accounts in Kuwait, but is not in the country. She said they used to steal up to KD 2,000 only because it is the allowed transfer limit. Investigations continue.