Bank transactions on hold for thousands of Kuwaitis

Dealings frozen over failure to meet mandatory biometric fingerprinting deadline

Cairo: Thousands of Kuwaitis are having their government and banking transactions frozen after they failed to meet a September 30 deadline for undergoing mandatory biometric fingerprinting.

The Public Authority for Civil Information provided to the Kuwait Banking Association lists of the names of Kuwaitis who failed to perform biometric fingerprinting as a step for freezing their transactions and bank accounts, Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qabas reported, citing banking sources.

“The banks received lists containing names of tens of thousands in preparation for implementing the instructions to freeze their bank accounts immediately after the expiration of the deadline,” the sources added.

More than 47,000 Kuwaitis are estimated to have failed to meet the deadline.

The Kuwaiti Interior Ministry has warned that all government and banking transactions will be suspended for those who do not perform the fingerprint procedure.

However, they will not be barred from travelling abroad, according to a security source. “A travel ban is only ordered by public prosecution or the General Directorate of Investigations or upon a ministerial decree serving public interests,” the source said.

Exempted from the transaction freeze are the Kuwaitis, who are abroad for medical treatment or study, and diplomats. They will be fingerprinted at the Kuwait airport upon their arrival.

Authorities said citizens whose government and banking transactions have been suspended can go to the governmental identity verification departments across Kuwait and undergo fingerprinting.

Upon completion of the procedure, the ban on transactions will be automatically lifted.

Earlier this year, Kuwait extended deadlines for expatriates and citizens to undergo biometric fingerprinting and stressed importance of compliance.

The deadline was set for September 30 for Kuwaiti citizens, and 31 December for expatriates. The number of expatriates who have not undergone the procedure so far are estimated at 750,000.