Kuwait faces FATF scrutiny over money laundering controls

Kuwait is under scrutiny amid concern that it’s being used by money launderers and terrorist organizations.

The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force issued a progress report today that both praised and scolded the Gulf state’s financial apparatus.

While Kuwait has adequate legal and supervisory framework to address money laundering and terrorism financing, it also has “serious shortcomings delivering effective outcomes,” the FATF said.

The UAE was removed from the group’s “gray list” in February after taking broad steps to crack down on money laundering.

Sale of stake in Mideast Starbucks franchise held up by protests

The sale of a minority stake in the Middle East Starbucks franchise owned by Kuwait’s AlShaya Group, which has drawn interest from Apollo Global Management and other international firms, appears to have been paused.

AlShaya, which owns some 2,000 Starbucks coffee outlets across the MENA region and eastern Europe, has watched the business’s market value dwindle in the face of widespread boycotts against the brand, Reuters reports.

Starbucks, McDonalds, KFC and other U.S. brands have been the target of protests in the region since the Gaza war started almost a year ago because of their perceived ties to Israel even though Starbucks has no outlets in the country.

AlShaya’s coffee business has been valued at between $4 billion and $5 billion, the news agency said.
 

Kuwait’s surging summer power demand leads to serial blackouts

Kuwait is suffering from more than the intense summer heat this year.

High temperatures have increased electricity demand and led to an unusual series of blackouts, The New York Times reports.

Although the country is one of the wealthiest in the world, its power grid is under strain, leading to the summer power cuts.

Delays in expanding the grid, along with a shift from oil to imported natural gas for power generation, have contributed to the electricity shortages, according to the newspaper. 

Some of the problems have been blamed on the country’s disorganized administration, which has had 14 electricity ministers over the past 10 years.