KUWAIT CITY — The Court of Appeals has sentenced the head of a sports federation to three years and four months in prison and a travel company director to two years and four months for their involvement in embezzlement related to sports funding. The court also imposed fines and ordered the confiscation of KD 551,000 linked to the case.

Presided over by Judge Abdullah Al-Othman, the court ruled that the defendants engaged in submitting forged invoices and manipulating records connected to sports training camps. Specifically, the charges cited the submission of falsified invoices for training camps held in Italy, as well as the inflation of the number of players participating in tournaments and camps in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and South Korea. These actions resulted in the misappropriation of funds originally allocated for legitimate sports activities.

In addition to embezzlement, the defendants faced allegations related to money laundering. The court’s decision reflects the severity of the misconduct, which involved significant financial irregularities undermining the integrity of sports programs.

A former president of the sports federation, who was also implicated in the case, was acquitted, and the court upheld this previous ruling. The judgment marks a notable development in efforts to address corruption within sports organizations in Kuwait, emphasizing judicial scrutiny of financial misconduct.

The verdict serves as a warning to public officials and affiliated private sector individuals about the legal consequences of financial fraud and mismanagement of public funds. The confiscated amount of KD 551,000 represents recovered assets deemed unlawfully obtained through the fraudulent schemes uncovered in this case.