A Sri Lankan woman has made headlines in Kuwait after authorities uncovered a 33-year-long fraud in which she deceived a Kuwaiti man, faked a pregnancy, and illegally obtained Kuwaiti citizenship.

The extraordinary case has exposed major vulnerabilities in Kuwait’s identity and nationality systems. It has also led to the revocation of citizenship from the woman’s purported daughter, after DNA testing confirmed that the child was not biologically related to either the woman or the Kuwaiti man listed as her father.

The start of the scam

The woman, identified as Costa, first entered Kuwait in 1992 on a domestic worker visa. Just two years later, she was deported following an absconding case filed against her.

However, in 1996, she re-entered the country under a new name and passport. With no biometric screening systems in place at the time, she was able to pass through immigration unnoticed.

Shortly after her return, Costa married a Kuwaiti taxi driver. Under Article 8 of Kuwait’s Nationality Law, a foreign woman could apply for citizenship if she was married to a Kuwaiti man and had a child with him. Costa used this provision to lay the foundation for what authorities now describe as one of the boldest cases of identity fraud in the nation’s history.

Fake pregnancy and stolen identity

To exploit the law, Costa convinced her husband she was pregnant. In reality, she had arranged with another Sri Lankan woman — who was genuinely expecting — to deliver the baby in a Kuwaiti hospital using Costa’s Civil ID.

The newborn girl was falsely registered as the daughter of Costa and her Kuwaiti husband. Neither had any biological link to the child, although the husband remained unaware of the deception.

In 2000, Costa applied for Kuwaiti citizenship based on her marriage and supposed motherhood. Her application was approved, and she officially became a Kuwaiti national.

Truth revealed after divorce

In 2008, after years of marital tension, Costa divorced her husband and admitted that the child was not his. Although he reported the revelation to the authorities, no legal action was taken at the time.

It wasn’t until 2021 that he filed a formal complaint, prompting an investigation by the Criminal Investigations Department. DNA testing confirmed that the child was not biologically related to either Costa or her ex-husband.

Citizenship revoked

In 2024, the Supreme Committee for Citizenship Affairs ruled that Costa had fraudulently acquired Kuwaiti nationality through deception, forgery, and impersonation. Her citizenship was revoked. Soon afterwards, the citizenship of her daughter—now an adult — was also annulled.

Authorities subsequently identified the girl’s biological mother as a Sri Lankan woman who had been in Kuwait at the time of delivery but was later deported. The daughter is now being issued Sri Lankan identification documents.

Source: Gulf News

--Agencies