• The Central Bank of Kuwait has urged the public to report unlicensed financial activity, according to AGBI's summary of the appeal.
• The appeal targets unauthorised money transfers and lending by individuals and companies, which the central bank warns could put customers' funds at risk.
• The central bank's October 2025 statement named a phone line (22972999) and an email address (unlicensed@cbk.gov.kw) for reports.
• That statement linked unlicensed activity to money-laundering and terrorist-financing risk, because such transactions run without any supervisory oversight.
• Neither source gives a new rule, a penalty or a count of reports received, so the appeal reads as an enforcement push rather than a rule change.

The Central Bank of Kuwait has urged the public to report unlicensed financial activity, AGBI reports. The appeal targets unauthorised money transfers and lending by individuals and companies. The reporting route is not new: the central bank published a phone line and an email address for such tips in October 2025. This is a renewed push on enforcement, not a change in the licensing rules.

What the appeal covers

The appeal covers unauthorised money transfers and lending by individuals and companies, activities the central bank warns could put customers' funds at risk, according to AGBI's summary of the report. The October 2025 statement describes the same perimeter more broadly: banking or financial transactions carried out without a valid licence and without oversight by any supervisory authority, whether by natural persons or legal entities. Neither source cites a new legal basis or a penalty.

The reporting channel already exists

The Central Bank of Kuwait set up its channel in a statement dated 7 October 2025. It lists the phone number 22972999 and the email address unlicensed@cbk.gov.kw, created, in the central bank's words, to receive reports or information from the public on unlicensed activities. The November 2026 appeal therefore renews a mechanism that is about a year old. This article has not seen whether the central bank has added new channels since then.

Why the central bank frames it as financial crime

The October 2025 statement says the central bank gives higher priority to combating unlicensed banking or financial activities. It adds that such transactions could be exploited for money laundering and terrorist financing. The logic is about visibility: a transfer or loan business with no licence files nothing with the supervisor and sits outside its monitoring. A public line is one way to surface operators the regulator cannot otherwise see.

What this means for you

Customers can check that a provider holds a licence before sending money or taking a loan, and can use the published line to report one that does not. Firms offering transfers or consumer credit in Kuwait should be able to show their own licence status on request. The central bank has not said how it handles reports. Watch for any published figures on reports received or enforcement action taken, since the sources reviewed here give none.