Fundraising on Instagram or WhatsApp for a Humanitarian Case in Kuwait: Can Individuals Do It and What Is the Legal Liability?

The same scenes recur on social media in Kuwait: a photo of a sick child who needs treatment abroad, a forwarded WhatsApp message about a struggling family behind on rent, or a story on a popular account urging followers to rally round, with a bank account number or payment link underneath. The motive is usually genuine, and Kuwaiti society is known for responding quickly to people in need. Good intentions, however, do not change the legal character of an act, and collecting money from the public is an activity the Kuwaiti legislature regulates strictly and, as a rule, reserves to licensed bodies subject to oversight.

This article addresses one specific angle: the individual who collects, or promotes the collection of, donations through Instagram, WhatsApp or similar platforms for a particular humanitarian case, and the donor who wants to help without being defrauded or drawn into a violation. The general framework for licensing and governing charities is covered in our articles Donations and Charitable Work Law in Kuwait: Licensing, Oversight and Compliance and Charitable Work Regulation in Kuwait, the formation of civil-society bodies in Public Benefit Societies in Kuwait, and endowments in Awqaf and Charitable Affairs in Kuwait. We will not repeat that material here.

Instead we answer concrete questions: may I transfer money directly to a relative or neighbour in need? When does that personal help turn into prohibited "fundraising"? What is the liability of an influencer or account owner who posts someone else's account number? What about donating to relief campaigns outside Kuwait? How do I check whether a body is licensed? What should I do if the "humanitarian case" turns out to be a scam? And when does the matter move beyond a regulatory breach into the territory of anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing law?

Quick Answer

• Individuals may not solicit the public without a licence: an open call, through a public account or wide group chats, to transfer money into a personal account for a humanitarian case is in substance "fundraising", an activity reserved to licensed charities under rules set by the competent government authority.
• Direct personal help is lawful: giving your own money to a relative, neighbour or person in need whom you know, or paying their hospital bill or rent directly, is a lawful individual act that needs no licence, because it is not collection from the public.
• Whoever posts the account is not immune: an influencer or account owner who posts an account number and urges people to transfer may be held responsible for taking part in unlicensed collection, and may face compensation claims if the case proves fake and their negligence or knowledge is established.
• Giving abroad has its own channels: relief campaigns outside Kuwait are carried out through licensed bodies and official channels, not through personal accounts or private transfers to unknown recipients.
• Fraud in the name of humanitarian cases is a crime: it is prosecuted under the Penal Code (Law No. 16 of 1960) and the Law on Combating Information Technology Crimes (Law No. 63 of 2015), and the victim may report it and claim the money back.
• In serious cases: where collection is combined with concealing the source or destination of funds, or with transfers to suspicious parties, the facts may fall within Law No. 106 of 2013 on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism, which is far graver than a regulatory breach.

Legislative Framework

No single Kuwaiti text deals with everything related to donations on social media. The rules are spread across several sources that must be read together:

• The specific regulation of fundraising and charitable work: built on a core principle that collecting money from the public for charitable purposes may only be done under licence, and is reserved to registered and licensed associations, charitable foundations and bodies, under rules and decisions issued by the government authority supervising charitable work (the Ministry of Social Affairs under the arrangements in force at the time of writing). These rules define the permitted methods of collection, including electronic methods, and typically require that collection be for a specific approved project and that the money be deposited in the licensed body's accounts rather than in personal accounts. Because these regulatory decisions are updated from time to time, we do not cite their numbers here and recommend checking the latest issued by the competent authority.
• The law on clubs and public benefit societies: governs the registration and supervision of civil-society associations, and is the source of the concept of a "registered body" entitled to carry on public activity with state permission.
• The Penal Code, Law No. 16 of 1960: contains the traditional property offences, most relevant here being fraud (obtaining another's property through deceptive means) and breach of trust (misappropriating or dissipating money handed over in trust or as an agent for a specific purpose), as well as forgery offences.
• Law No. 63 of 2015 on Combating Information Technology Crimes: criminalises obtaining money through the information network or IT means by deceptive methods, impersonation or a false name, bringing fraud committed via Instagram, WhatsApp and similar platforms within its scope.
• Law No. 106 of 2013 on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism: targets concealing the illicit source of funds or disguising their destination, and criminalises providing or collecting funds by any means, directly or indirectly, with the intent or knowledge that they will be used to finance terrorism. It imposes monitoring and reporting duties on banks and financial institutions regarding suspicious transactions, including unexplained inflows into individuals' accounts.
• The Civil Code, Law No. 67 of 1980: governs the civil relationship between donor and collector. A person who receives money to spend on a specific purpose must spend it on that purpose and account for it; a person enriched at another's expense without lawful cause must return the benefit; and a person who causes harm through fault must compensate.

This layering means a single act, such as posting a personal account number to raise money for a patient, may be viewed from three angles at once: regulatory (is the collector licensed?), criminal (is the case real, and was the money spent on it?), and civil (does the donor have a right to recovery or compensation?).

Substantive Rules

1. Why fundraising is reserved to licensed bodies

The restriction may seem harsh on people who want to do good, but its rationale is clear. A licensed body is subject to financial and accounting oversight, uses known bank accounts, must document how funds are spent, and must verify that beneficiaries are genuinely eligible. An individual collecting into a personal account has no such oversight: nobody knows how much was raised, where it went, or whether the case was real at all. Experience shows that informal collection is fertile ground for three risks: fraud through invented or exaggerated cases, misapplication even in good faith, and leakage of funds to suspicious or prohibited parties without donors' knowledge. That is why the licence is a substantive requirement, not a formality.

2. The line between personal help and public fundraising

This is the most important practical point in the article. No text draws the line precisely, but the relevant criteria can be drawn from the purpose of the regulation:

• Source of the money: if you give from your own funds, you are a donor, not a collector. If you ask others to give through you or through an account you control, you are collecting.
• Circle of the request: family members or friends who know each other agreeing to share the cost of a relative's treatment is fundamentally different from an open appeal to thousands of anonymous followers. The wider the circle, and the further it moves from personal acquaintances to "the public", the closer the act comes to organised collection requiring a licence.
• Medium: a private message to a friend differs from a public post, a story on an open account, or a message people are asked to forward to every group. A medium designed for wide circulation is strong evidence of an appeal to the public.
• Money trail: it is safest for money to go directly to the service provider (hospital, landlord, school) or to a licensed charity, rather than pooling in an intermediary account. Funds accumulating in a personal account are what raises suspicion and complicates proof later.
• Habit and repetition: someone launching a new campaign every week for a new case is approaching an organised activity, unlike someone who helped a relative once.

The practical rule: help with your own money as you wish, ask acquaintances to contribute within a narrow and known circle if you like, but do not open a personal account to receive money from the public. If a case merits a wide campaign, the right route is to refer it to a licensed charity that will assess it and raise funds properly.

3. Liability of the influencer or account that posts a donation account

Some owners of large accounts believe they are "mere messengers" with no responsibility. That is not accurate. Anyone who posts an appeal with a personal account number, whether their own, the beneficiary's or a third party's, contributes to completing the collection, and their influence over followers is what makes it possible. Their exposure can arise at several levels:

• Regulatory: promoting or taking part in unlicensed collection may expose the poster to accountability under the fundraising rules, even without receiving a single fils.
• Criminal: if the poster knew the case was fabricated, colluded with its author, or took a share of the proceeds, they may be treated as a participant in the fraud or the related IT offence. Genuine good faith counts, but in practice the poster needs evidence that they made reasonable checks.
• Civil: donors who transferred money in reliance on a well-known account may claim compensation from it if fault is proved, for example posting with no verification at all, or continuing to promote the appeal after clear warning signs emerged.
• Paid posts: where posting is paid, it comes close to commercial advertising with all the obligations that entails, discussed in our article Influencer Marketing and Promotional Advertising in Kuwait.

The safe alternative for an influencer who wants to use their reach for good is to promote a project approved by a licensed charity, using that body's official link, after confirming the project exists and is authorised for collection, rather than posting individuals' account numbers.

4. Donating to campaigns outside Kuwait

When a disaster or humanitarian crisis strikes another country, accounts appear calling for "urgent relief" and posting individuals' account numbers inside or outside Kuwait, or payment links for unknown foreign entities. The risk rises for two reasons: it is hard to verify that money reaches those in need in a crisis zone, and cross-border transfers are precisely where the anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing regime is most active, because armed groups and proscribed organisations may hide behind humanitarian labels.

The rule, therefore, is that giving abroad should go through licensed Kuwaiti charities authorised to run overseas projects under the applicable rules, or through recognised official channels, not through individuals promising to "deliver" the money themselves. Anyone who collects money from people in Kuwait to send abroad outside those channels exposes themselves to liability that may go well beyond a regulatory breach, even if their intentions are purely humanitarian, because they cannot guarantee what happens to the money once it leaves.

5. How to verify that a body is licensed and a project approved

• Look up the body's full official name, not its platform handle, and confirm it is a registered association or charitable foundation.
• Check whatever lists or enquiry tools the government authority supervising charitable work makes available, and confirm the advertised project is authorised for collection.
• Make sure the bank account or payment link is in the body's own name and is published on its official website or app, not only in a forwarded message.
• Beware of accounts imitating a known charity's name with one changed letter or an added word, and of shortened payment links that hide the official domain.
• Ask for an official receipt in the body's name. A licensed charity issues receipts; an individual collecting into a personal account cannot.
• When in doubt, contact the charity directly on its official numbers and ask about the project before transferring.

6. Fraud in the name of humanitarian cases

Fraudsters exploit people's compassion through recurring techniques: photos of patients taken from the internet or from old cases, forged or altered medical reports, stories of struggling families who do not exist, impersonation of a charity or one of its staff, and sometimes continuing to collect for a real case after treatment was completed or the patient died. The general elements of these offences are covered in our articles Fraud and Deception Offences under Kuwaiti Law and Cybercrime under Kuwaiti Law. Here we focus on what is specific to donations:

• Invented case or impersonation: presenting a false story backed by documents, photos or an assumed capacity to induce transfers is the classic form of fraud, and when done online or through social media it falls within Law No. 63 of 2015.
• Real case, but the money never arrived: if someone collects for a genuine case and then keeps the money or spends it elsewhere, the closer characterisation is breach of trust, because the money was handed over to be applied to a specific purpose.
• Forgery: using a forged medical report, hospital invoice or court judgment to persuade donors adds forgery and use of a forged document.

It is worth stressing that a deceived donor is not a participant in the violation merely because they transferred in good faith to a personal account. They are a victim entitled to report and to claim their money back, and embarrassment or fear of liability should not stop them from doing so.

7. When does it become a money-laundering or terrorist-financing concern?

We emphasise first that the overwhelming majority of individual appeals in Kuwait stem from sincere compassion and have nothing to do with these offences. But Law No. 106 of 2013 looks not at the label under which money is raised but at its source, destination and movement. Suspicion may arise in serious cases, with indicators such as:

• Large, repeated inflows into a personal account from many senders with no known activity to explain them.
• Immediate onward transfer of the collected sums abroad, cash withdrawal, or routing through multiple accounts.
• An unclear ultimate beneficiary, or links to conflict zones or to listed entities.
• Use of other people's accounts ("borrowed accounts") to receive the money.

In such cases banks may report suspicious transactions to the competent authorities under their legal obligations, accounts may be frozen, and the account holder may be summoned for investigation. Because penalties in this area are severe and criminal intent is inferred from the circumstances, anyone whose account comes under enquiry or is frozen should seek legal advice immediately, before making any statement. For the general framework see Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in Kuwait.

8. The civil relationship between donor and collector

Apart from criminal exposure, a person who receives money from others to spend on a specific case takes on civil obligations: to apply it to the purpose for which it was raised, to account for it if asked, and to return any surplus or any amount that could not be applied to that purpose, or direct it as the donors agree. If the case proves fake, the donor may claim back what they paid for lack of lawful cause, plus compensation where warranted. This right may extend to anyone who shared in the fault, such as a negligent poster, depending on the circumstances.

Settled Principles of the Court of Cassation

The following principles do not concern donations as such, but they are general rules that govern how related facts are characterised:

• The Court of Cassation has consistently held that fraud requires deceptive means capable of persuading the victim of a false state of affairs, and that a bare lie is not in principle enough unless supported by external appearances or material acts that lend it credibility, such as fabricated documents, an accomplice who vouches for the claim, or an assumed false capacity.
• The Court has consistently held that breach of trust requires money to have been delivered to the offender under a contract of trust, such as deposit or agency, or for use in a specific matter, followed by misappropriation, dissipation or use to the owner's detriment, with the intent to deal with the money as its owner.
• The Court has consistently held that inferring criminal intent and knowledge is a matter of fact for the trial court, provided its reasoning is sound and grounded in the record.
• The Court has consistently held that digital evidence, such as electronic messages, messaging-app conversations and bank statements, is subject to the trial court's assessment like any other evidence, and may be relied on where the court is satisfied of its authenticity and attribution.
• The Court has consistently held that a final criminal judgment binds the civil court on what it necessarily decided regarding the occurrence of the act and its attribution to the offender, which eases the victim's civil claim after conviction.

Methodological note: we have deliberately not cited appeal numbers or judgment dates, because accurate citation requires reviewing the full text and facts of each judgment; these principles are presented in their settled general form. Nor have we cited article numbers, penalty ranges or the numbers of the regulatory decisions on fundraising, as these require checking the text in force at the time of the facts. When preparing a complaint or a defence memorandum, the lawyer cites specific provisions and judgments from official sources.

Practical Steps and Documents

If you want to help a humanitarian case lawfully

• Pay the service provider directly: if the need is a hospital bill, rent or school fees, pay the hospital, landlord or school directly and keep the receipt.
• Give your own money to people you know: direct personal help to a relative or neighbour whose situation you know needs no licence.
• Refer the case to a licensed body: if the need is large and requires public support, help the person apply to a licensed association or charitable foundation, or to the relevant government assistance bodies, so the case is assessed and funded properly.
• Share the official link, not a personal account: if you want to publicise the case, share the approved project link of the licensed body, never an individual's account number.
• Do not hold other people's money: if someone gives you money to pass on, hand it to the service provider or the licensed body against a receipt rather than pooling it in your account.

If you have already collected into your personal account

• Stop collecting immediately and remove the appeal.
• Document everything received: a bank statement showing amounts and senders, and a list of contributors where possible.
• Document everything spent: receipts from the hospital, landlord or beneficiary.
• Do not send the balance abroad or withdraw it in cash; take legal advice on the safest way to deal with it, whether handing it to a licensed body or returning it to donors.
• If you receive a summons or an enquiry from an official body or your bank, seek legal advice before making any statement.

If you were defrauded in the name of a humanitarian case

• Act fast: call your bank immediately, report the transaction and ask for whatever can be done to trace or stop the funds. Speed is decisive for recovery.
• Preserve evidence before it disappears: screenshots of the post or message, the account name and link, the bank account number used, the transfer receipt and any conversation with the collector. Fraudsters often delete accounts once exposed.
• File a report: with the authorities competent for cybercrime, a police station or the Public Prosecution as appropriate, attaching the evidence. Where there are many victims, multiple reports strengthen the file.
• Report to the platform: use Instagram's or WhatsApp's reporting tools against the fraudulent account to protect others.
• Pursue a civil claim: you may claim repayment and compensation by joining the criminal case as a civil party or through a separate civil action.

If the collector hides behind an anonymous account, the ways to identify them through the competent authorities and the bank account used are explained in detail in The Anonymous Instagram Seller in Kuwait; the same rules apply here.

Documents you will need for a report

• The complainant's civil ID.
• Screenshots of the post or message, with dates and the account link.
• The transfer receipt or a bank statement showing the transaction.
• The beneficiary account details as shown in the appeal.
• Any forged document or image used to persuade you, if you have it.
• Names of others who know of the facts or were defrauded by the same account.

Hypothetical Cases

Case 1: A family sharing the cost of a relative's treatment

Hypothetical facts: an elderly man needed expensive surgery. His children created a WhatsApp group of uncles, aunts and cousins, and agreed that each would contribute what they could. The eldest son gathered the contributions, paid the hospital directly and shared the receipt with the group.

Legal characterisation: this is family solidarity within a closed, known circle, not collection from the public. Contributors are relatives who know one another, the purpose is specific, and the money went straight to the service provider against a receipt. The better view is that this falls outside prohibited collection. Had one of them posted the same appeal with his account number on a public account with thousands of followers, the characterisation would change.

Case 2: An influencer posts an account for an "orphans' mother"

Hypothetical facts: a popular account owner received a message from a woman saying she was a widow supporting orphans and facing an eviction judgment, with a photo of the judgment. He posted her story with her bank account number and transfers poured in. Two weeks later it emerged that the judgment image had been altered and that she had sent the same story to several accounts.

Legal characterisation: the woman may face liability for fraud by technological means under Law No. 63 of 2015, and for forgery and use of a forged document. If the influencer is shown not to have known of the forgery, he does not bear criminal liability for the fraud, but he may be accountable for promoting unlicensed collection and may face civil claims from donors who say he failed to verify. His position improves considerably if he promptly posts a correction, cooperates with investigators and hands over his conversations. The lesson: the safe route was to refer the case to a licensed body for verification.

Case 3: Collecting for disaster relief outside Kuwait

Hypothetical facts: after a natural disaster abroad, a young man set up an Instagram account called "Urgent Relief", collected large sums into his personal account within days, and transferred them in instalments to people in that country he described as "field volunteers". His bank noticed the unusual inflows, reported them to the competent authority, and the account was frozen.

Legal characterisation: even assuming good faith, he collected from the public without a licence and moved funds across borders outside licensed channels to recipients whose identity and use of the money he cannot prove. This is exactly the pattern that calls for scrutiny under Law No. 106 of 2013, and the outcome will depend on what is established about his intent and the ultimate beneficiaries. His defence will rest heavily on how well he documented the money trail. The lesson: overseas relief should go only through licensed charities and official channels.

Quick Comparison of Common Scenarios

• Giving your own money directly to a relative or person in need you know: lawful, no licence required, negligible legal risk.
• Paying a needy person's hospital bill or rent directly to the provider: lawful and the safest route; keep the receipt.
• Contributing with relatives or friends in a closed, known circle: better viewed as private solidarity rather than public collection, provided it is transparent and the need is paid directly.
• Posting a public appeal with your personal account number: unlicensed public collection, exposing you to regulatory accountability and possibly criminal or civil liability if funds are misapplied.
• An influencer posting an individual's account number: participation in unlicensed collection, possible civil liability for negligence, and criminal liability if knowledge or collusion is proved.
• Donating via a licensed charity's official link: the correct legal route, with an official receipt.
• Collecting to send money abroad through individuals: high risk extending beyond regulatory breach to money-laundering or terrorist-financing concerns.
• Inventing a case or impersonating a charity: fraud, an IT crime if committed online, and possibly forgery.

Frequently Asked Questions

May I publicise a humanitarian case without posting an account number?

Raising awareness of a need and directing people to a licensed charity handling it is different from receiving money. The safest approach is for the post to contain no personal account number and to point donors to the licensed body's official link. Respect the person's privacy and do not publish their photos or details without consent.

May the person in need ask people for help themselves?

Asking acquaintances for help for oneself differs from running a public campaign. A wide social media campaign with an account number, however, falls within public collection. The more effective route for the person in need is to apply to licensed charities or the relevant government assistance bodies.

Am I liable if I forward a WhatsApp message asking for donations to a personal account?

Forwarding helps the appeal spread, and you may be held responsible if the case is fake and you knew, or had enough reason to suspect. The safest course is not to forward messages containing individuals' account numbers and to verify before sharing anything.

Will I be penalised for transferring money to a personal account that turned out to be unlawful?

A good-faith donor who gave their own money in reliance on the appeal is in principle a victim, not a violator, and may report and claim repayment. The position differs if they took part in organising or promoting the collection.

May I collect my zakat and my friends' zakat and distribute it myself?

A Muslim paying his own zakat directly to eligible recipients is lawful. Becoming a collector of other people's zakat from a wide circle, however, approaches organised collection. Licensed bodies, including the Zakat House as a government body, are the regulated channel for that.

What do I do with surplus money after the patient's treatment is fully funded?

Do not redirect it to another case or keep it without basis. The money was raised for a specific purpose; the rule is to return it to donors or deal with it as they agree. The safest course is to hand it to a licensed body after taking legal advice on how to do so and document it.

How do I know an account bearing a well-known charity's name is official?

Go to the charity's official website or app and follow its social media accounts from there, compare the handle letter by letter, and do not rely on links in forwarded messages.

Can I recover money donated to a fraudster's account?

Often yes, especially if you act quickly and alert your bank and the authorities before the money is withdrawn. Repayment and compensation can be claimed within the criminal case or in a separate civil action, but actual recovery depends on tracing the funds and the fraudster's means.

Is an electronic payment link safer than a bank transfer?

Not necessarily. What matters is the recipient, not the method. A licensed charity's official payment link is safe; a payment link of unknown origin may be more dangerous than a transfer because it may also capture your card details.

What about competitions or prize draws conditional on donating?

Linking a donation to a prize or draw adds a further regulatory layer, since competitions and draws have their own rules in addition to the fundraising rules. Do not run one without legal advice.

Is a charity liable if someone impersonates it?

Liability rests primarily with the impersonator. The charity itself is harmed and may take legal action against him, and should alert the public to its official accounts. A deceived donor pursues the impersonator.

I am a resident, not a citizen. Do different rules apply?

The rules on fundraising, fraud and money laundering apply to anyone who commits the act in Kuwait, citizen or resident. A resident may also face additional consequences for their residency if convicted, which calls for extra caution.

Conclusion

Helping people in need is a deep-rooted value in Kuwaiti society, and the law does not stand in its way; it organises it. Everyone is free to give their own money to whomever they choose, to pay a needy person's bill, and to support their family within its circle. But when help becomes a public appeal gathering people's money into a personal account, it enters the regulated space reserved to licensed bodies.

Responsibility is not limited to whoever receives the money; it extends to whoever promotes it with their influence, such as an influencer or a widely followed account. The risks multiply when money heads abroad outside official channels, entering territory that may end in money-laundering or terrorist-financing suspicion whatever the intention. At the same time, the law gives the deceived donor effective tools: reporting fraud and IT crimes, and claiming repayment and compensation.

The golden rule is simple: donate through a licensed body or give directly to someone you know, and do not collect other people's money in your own account. If you have already collected, are facing an official enquiry, or have been defrauded, acting early with legal advice is what protects your position and your rights.

Legal Notice

This article is general legal information on Kuwaiti law and does not constitute legal advice or create any relationship between the reader and the firm. Its contents are subject to legislative amendment, to evolving regulatory decisions, and to judicial application to the facts of each case.

If you have collected donations through your account and want to regularise your position, have received a summons or enquiry about an account into which funds were collected, or have been defrauded in the name of a humanitarian case, the team at Yumnaak Law Firm will review your facts and handle the criminal complaint and civil claim, or your defence and representation before investigating authorities and the courts. Contact us or book an appointment to review your case.