Kuwait orders investigation into US Dow Petrochemical deal

Kuwait has asked the public prosecutor to open an investigation into a scrapped deal with US firm Dow Chemical that resulted in a $2.2 billion fine, a local newspaper reported Sunday.

Kuwait’s Al-Qabas newspaper said: “The Attorney General Dhirar Asousi has received a request from the government demanding to hold the perpetrators accountable for the loss endured by the state.”

The paper quoted a senior source as saying the government last week sent a large number of documents and contracts about the deal to the public prosecutor.

The papers included the names of officials who oversaw the $17.4 billion deal with Dow Chemicals.

Kuwait and US petrochemicals giant Dow Chemical signed the deal in 2008 but the Gulf State withdrew unilaterally later in the same year due to a political dispute between the government and parliament.

The International Chamber of Commerce, acting as an arbitrator, later ordered Kuwait to pay a penalty of $2.2 billion for scrapping the deal.

Kuwait paid the fine in May 2013, although the parliament warned the government not to pay without investigating the deal.

The government’s demand comes six months after a parliamentary inquiry that urged the government to prosecute 24 ex-officials, including two former oil ministers and several top former industry executives.

The parliamentary investigation, debated by MPs in December, charged the officials of squandering public funds and making illegal profits.