July 01, 2007	Sunday	Jamadi-us-Sani 15, 1428

KUWAIT CITY, June 30: Kuwait’s Oil Minister Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah has stepped down along with the communications minister, reported the state run official media KUNA.

Sheikh Ali faced a no-confidence vote in parliament over alleged financial irregularities. The resignations came five days after Kuwaiti parliamentarians requested the impeachment of the oil minister, over allegations that he helped his cousin embezzle public money from a state-owned company more than a decade ago.

The Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah has accepted the resignation of Sheikh Ali, who risked dismissal on a simple majority of 25 members of the 50-seat parliament on the July 9 no confidence vote, the report said.

The Amir also “accepted the resignation of Communications Minister and State Minister for National Assembly Affairs, Sharida Al-Meosherji. The Minister of Electricity and Water, Mohammad al-Olaim, will take care of the oil portfolio, while State Minister for Housing, Abdulwahed al-Awadhi, will be in charge of the ministry of communication,” the report noted.

Opposition MPs had accused Sheikh Ali of involvement in the multi-million dollar Kuwait Oil Tanker Company fraud case in which former Oil Minister Sheikh Ali Khalifa al-Sabah and four other top KOTC officials were accused of stealing more than $100 million.