Answers are being sought from the Kuwaiti foreign and interior ministers after reports that Kuwaiti citizens had acquired Maltese citizenship, a Kuwaiti lawmaker has said.

The investigation was launched after local news outlet Times of Malta published a report saying that citizens from Arabian Gulf states had obtained Maltese citizenship through Malta’s IIP scheme.

“The issue is worth following up to find out their reasons for the acquisition of the Maltese citizenship and the measures that will be taken by the government,” MP Adel Al Damkhi told Gulfnews.com.

Ouda Al Ruwaie, a Kuwaitian Parliamentary Secretary, explained that the motives and emotions that lead people to apply for a foreign citizenship were required to address complex naturalization issues.

“When someone acquires a nationality willingly, they should understand that they will be deprived of the Kuwaiti citizenship. I am not referring only to the Maltese citizenship, but to all others. Some Kuwaiti children acquire the US or British citizenship because they were born there, for instance,” he said, quoted by Kuwaiti daily Al Rai.

Deputy Foreign Minister Khalid Al Jarallah said that the issue of double nationality is within the prerogatives of the interior ministry.

“Kuwait does not allow its citizens to hold any other nationality. The role of the foreign ministry in such cases is to follow up on requests from the interior ministry and inquire through its embassies. We are ready to follow up with the competent authorities through official channels,” he said.

Al Rai this week reported that it investigated the names of the people who obtained Maltese citizenship in 2016 and 2017 and discovered that Kuwaiti individuals and families were among them.