KUWAIT: The National Assembly called on the government yesterday to refer 24 former oil officials to the public prosecution for legal action over the joint venture with US firm Dow Chemical which was scrapped, and as a result, Kuwait paid a $2.2 billion penalty. A parliamentary probe report charged the officials, including two former oil ministers and ex-top executives, of squandering public funds and making illegal profits. During the debate which began on Tuesday, a number of MPs criticized the report for being one-sided and failing to include the main officials responsible for the issue, including Cabinet ministers and members of the Supreme Petroleum Council.

The $17.4-billion-dollar joint venture was signed with Dow Chemical in 2008 but under political pressure from the opposition, the Cabinet scrapped the deal. The International Chamber of Commerce, acting as an arbitrator, ordered Kuwait to pay a penalty of $2.2 billion for scrapping the deal. MPs accused the government of rushing the payment of the fine when it should have been delayed until an investigation was conducted.

Some MPs insisted that sending the investigation report to the government will not yield any positive results because the government will not do anything. They also accused the government of being unwilling to exert efforts to repatriate the penalty, which they said is possible. MP Jamal Al-Omar said the fine cost each Kuwaiti citizen some KD 600, adding the size of the fine is unprecedented.

Several MPs said that the former Cabinet which cancelled the project should have been interrogated and included in the report as potential defendants. State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah said the government will refer the report to the public prosecution for a legal probe.

MP Ahmad Al-Azemi said members of the Supreme Petroleum Council must also be charged because they approved the deal and its cancellation. MP Mohammad Tana described the fine as "the robbery of the century" and claimed the payment was deliberately rushed for selfish interests. He also accused the government of not taking any action to recover the funds. Islamist MP Hamdan Al-Azemi said the report failed to interrogate the senior officials who took the decisions, in a reference to the Cabinet.

By B Izzak