Saudi’s Nazaha arrests several people on corruption, embezzlement charges

Saudi’s Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) has initiated a number of criminal cases against people – primarily working in the public sector on charges of corruption, it announced on Sunday.

Legal procedures against the accused are currently underway, local media reported.

Some of the cases include:

* The arrest of two municipality workers and a bank employee who allegedly obtained over SAR5.17m and used a bank account to embezzle the funds in exchange for awarding a SAR60m project to a certain company.

* Arresting three university employees who are accused of receiving over SAR4.4m in return for awarding several contracts worth over SAR13.8m to two enterprises owned by a businessman. They are also charged with laundering the money through a bank. The businessman and the bank branch manager have also been arrested .

* In the third case, a former employee at a university allegedly obtained an amount of SAR240,000 from a businessman in exchange for overlooking a number of violations with the complicity of the resident engineer in three projects worth SAR7.6m. All three have been arrested.

* A former employee in the Contracts and Procurement Department at an international airport has been arrested for apparently enabling his relative (who has also been arrested) to obtain 218 direct purchase orders in an “unlawful manner”.

* In the fifth case, a former employee of the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (Modon) has been arrested for allegedly receiving SAR225,750 from a businessman in exchange for a testimonial for the latter’s company, which “in effect” enabled the company to obtain projects in Modon. The businessman has also been arrested.

* An employee of the General Authority of Customs who is accused of receiving SAR574,300 in exchange from a customs broker for clearing containers that contain tobacco, using some of his relatives bank accounts, has been arrested along with the broker.

* In the seventh case, in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, Nazaha arrested four non-commissioned officers working at the General Directorate of Traffic for pulling over a resident and enabling their colleague (a retired non-commissioned officer) to search his vehicle and steal SAR200,000 from the vehicle.

* A retired non-commissioned officer from the police department was arrested for taking SAR219,750 as well as gold blocks while he was working as a warehouse keeper. the officer reportedly laundered that by selling and buying cars and deposited the amount and profits in a bank account that belongs to a car dealership owned by one of his relatives.

* In cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, a citizen was arrested for bribing the arrest squad of the General Directorate of Narcotics Control with SAR200,000 during his arrest for the possession of narcotics.

* The 10th case included the arrests of a colonel and a non-commissioned officer from the General Directorate of Passports for registering the fake entry of a relative into the kingdom.

Nazaha stressed that it will continue to “pursue anyone who exploits the public office to achieve personal gain or harm public interest in any way possible”.

It also added that the “accountability extends far beyond the retirement of any individual, as the crimes of financial and administrative corruption have no statute of limitations, and that it will apply what the rule of law against violators with zero tolerance”.