Kuwait: Foreign Minister Announces Resignation

Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Sabah reportedly submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah Monday. According to Asharq Alawsat, “the resignation will only be considered official when it is accepted by Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.” The announcement of Sheikh Mohammad’s resignation came amid mounting pressure from the opposition for the dissolution of Sheikh Nasser’s government.

MP Mussallam Al-Barrak, spokesman for the opposition Popular Action Bloc, threatened to release private documents revealing that Sheikh Mohammad facilitated illegal money transfers to foreign bank accounts on behalf of the prime minister. Al-Barrak alleges that the overseas transfers are linked to a larger corruption scandal at home, in which “14 MPs in the 50-member parliament” supposedly “received some $350 million in “political” bribes.”