KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem adjourns the parliament session over the government's resignation yesterday. - Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

By B Izzak

KUWAIT: Eleven opposition MPs yesterday demanded a comprehensive parliamentary investigation into suspected corruption in which previous and current lawmakers and ministers have been allegedly involved since 2009. In a motion submitted to the National Assembly, the lawmakers called for forming a five-MP investigation committee which will be entrusted to investigate former MPs and ministers and senior state officials and bureaucrats suspected of being involved in corruption cases.

According to the motion, the panel should be elected by the Assembly and must submit the outcome of its probe within three months. The investigation should include money transfers into the suspects' bank accounts or that of their companies since they assumed public office. It should also cover ownership of real estate, investments and industrial, agricultural and service land plots, normally offered by the state. The committee should also probe tenders and contracts at all ministries including Kuwait Petroleum Corp and its subsidiaries, and arms deals, especially Caracal, Eurofighters and Rafael deals.

Meanwhile, the official gazette did not publish the names of people who were pardoned by HH the Amir, but local media published some names, including all 11 former opposition MPs and activists who have been living in exile in Turkey since the summer of 2018. One of them, ex-MP Musallam Al-Barrak, thanked HH the Amir for the pardon. He also thanked all those who exerted efforts to achieve the pardon.

The names also include relatives of members of an Iran-linked cell who had received various jail terms for harboring members of the cell despite being wanted by security authorities. A majority of the 25-member cell have been convicted on charges of terrorism and sentenced to long jail terms.

Two leading opposition MPs yesterday criticized the cancellation of the National Assembly's regular session scheduled for yesterday, saying that the cancellation violated the constitution. MPs Shuaib Al-Muwaizri and Mubarak Al-Hajraf said in separate statements that although the government has tendered its resignation, HH the Amir has not yet accepted the resignation and accordingly the Cabinet is still active and should have attended the Assembly session. Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem yesterday adjourned the Assembly session, saying that he had been informed by the prime minister that the Cabinet had resigned and cannot attend the session.