SHARAR GRILLING MEANT TO SEND OFFICIAL MESSAGE ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 004425

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, INR/B

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2014
TAGS: PREL KU
SUBJECT: SHARAR GRILLING MEANT TO SEND OFFICIAL MESSAGE ON
CORRUPTION

REF: A. KUWAIT 4407


B. KUWAIT 4219

C. KUWAIT 3391

Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) A senior advisor to Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah
Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah told Poloff December 15 that the December 6
grilling of Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Mohammed
Dhaifallah Sharar (ref b) had been engineered by the
government in an attempt to "send a message" to members of
the royal family who are engaged in corrupt activities.
Specifically, the advisor said that one of the sons of
National Guard Chief Shaykh Salem Al-Ali Al-Salem Al-Sabah
was the intended recipient of the message, which he
cryptically paraphrased as "don't play with fire." (Note:
Although the advisor did not say which son, Shaykh Salem has
three prominent sons: Ali, a former Minister of Finance and
Communication and the majority stakeholder in the Commercial
Bank of Kuwait on behalf of his father; Fahad, the Director
General of the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and
Fisheries Resources, which was criticized as a corrupt
organization during Sharar's grilling; and Ahmed, the
Chairman and Managing Director of the Securities Group
Company, a financial brokerage house. Ali and Ahmed are
known to be heavily involved in trading at the Kuwait Stock
Exchange. End Note.)


2. (C) Responding to Poloff's question about the recent spate
of publicity on corruption issues, the advisor said that the
GOK was undertaking a campaign to expose corruption in Kuwait
at the behest of the Prime Minister.


3. (C) Comment: Although it may be true that the GOK is
undertaking a campaign to expose corruption, it is likely
that the campaign is extrememly limited in scope and is
fueled as much by family rivalry as by altruism. Shaykh Sabah
is no great friend of Shaykh Salem's, especially after the
latter's public attempts to raise his profile (refs a and c).
Additionally, Shaykh Sabah's sons, like Shaykh Salem's, are
some of the wealthiest in the country and have themselves
been accused of corruption. That the government may have
engineered a grilling to prove a point is more significant,
as it shows the lengths to which Shaykh Sabah will go to
avoid direct conflict -- even with family rivals that his
advisors insist have little influence.
LEBARON