A Saudi man who had fraudulently acquired a Kuwaiti nationality 31 years back was sentenced to 22 years in prison on Wednesday, Al Rai newspaper reported

According to the local daily, the man's supposed father, who was also a defendant in the case, had forged papers in 1986 falsely claiming the Saudi national was his son. 

"At the time, the man was issued a nationality card, ID cards, and a passport," Al Rai wrote

He was also eventually hired by the country's ministry of interior and for years, he unrightfully received hundreds of thousands of Kuwaiti dinars in salaries and benefits. 

Both the man and his supposed father were convicted of forging a fake citizenship, however, the latter's sentence was suspended due to the legal system's statute of limitations. 

The Saudi defendant wasn't so lucky and will now be serving his full sentence in a Kuwait prison.  

He was also ordered to pay back the government 41,000 Kuwaiti dinars ($135,000). 

Not the first reported case in recent months

A few weeks back, the arrest of a Syrian national who fraudulently acquired the Kuwaiti citizenship 22 years ago made headlines across the GCC. 

The man was arrested after his wife reported him to authorities. 

This came after a heated argument erupted between the two, leading the angered wife to reveal the shocking detail to authorities. 

In her report, the wife said her husband had been granted the citizenship after he'd forged the documents needed for it. 

After thorough investigations, officers discovered that the man had entered the Gulf state on a Syrian passport. 

The investigation into the suspect include DNA tests and also saw investigators interview over 30 people with links to the family.