A Kuwaiti court’s decision put everyone is a shock last weekend when Saeed Dashti and Marsha, two infamous business executives were granted bail. It is notable that they were deeply involved in the money laundering and lobby embezzlement case of the Persian Gulf. Both Dashti and Lazareva are said to be the culprits who wrongly used about $500 million for their own deeds. The money was acquired from an asset sale in the Philippines. The duo will soon see the proceedings of their case. Also, a high-powered advocacy has been constituted on their behalf.
The Lazareva’s case is no longer a hometown quarrel or just another proceeding the Persian Gulf. Due to the knee-deep involvement of Kuwait & Gulf Link (KGL), a Kuwait-based firm, this case is now an international matter. Against the allegations of imappropriatization of $500 by their CEO, the company has already spent $2.5 on some of the greatest advocates, as reported by Politico. It’s really hard to believe that Neil Bush who is the son of President Bush and FBI Louis Freech is among them. Cherie Blair, the wife of England’s former prime minister Tony Blair has also joined hands with Louis and Neil.
In a campaign where Lazareva is put as the “most successful businesswoman” in the middle east term is being coined. Her involvement in the case was argued as a result of the corruption in the Kuwaiti Government and their extremely weak and powerless judicial system. It is being said that the allegations are nothing more than a conspiratorial combined effort to impair the company’s one of the most saught-after upcoming deal with its probably the most profitable client – the US government.
The first time when the air of suspicion loomed over Lazareva and Dashti was the same year they were arrested for the first time – 2017. The allegation was none other inappropriately devouring funds from the KPA – Kuwait Port Authority by misusing their top positions. The sale of Clark Global City in the Philippines raised a lot of eyes and caused the charges to fall upon them. Lazareva was the director of the Port Fund who had the possession of Clark Global City.
The CGC was sponsored by KGL Investment and UCRD claimed it for $380 million in 2017. On the other hand, rumors suggest that at that point of time, it must have been bigger than $1.1 billion in the valuation. When the remainder of fund seemed mission, the Kuwaiti Parliamentarians and Prosecutors jumped in to open an investigation. As a result, Lazareva and Dashti were found guilty and were fined $73 million combined and the worse, were sentenced to serve respectively 10 and 15 years of hard labor in the prison. However, the sentence was open to appeal.
While the case was on, some of their friends such as Freech and bush joined hands to march a rally on social media against the Kuwaiti Judiciary, declaring the system as corrupted. They claimed that the trail was not fair and was completed in unsanitary conditions. Neil Bush went to great lengths as he even said that H W Bush, his grandfather helped librate Kuwait. Lazareva had her fair share of allies in Russia too. It came to the light when the Kremlin stood against the decision of the Kuwaiti government.