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Saudi Arabia’s Nazaha Arrests Corruption Suspects Linked to Hajj 2024

Nazaha urged the public to report any financial or administrative corruption through its official channels to protect public funds (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Nazaha urged the public to report any financial or administrative corruption through its official channels to protect public funds (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia’s Nazaha Arrests Corruption Suspects Linked to Hajj 2024

Nazaha urged the public to report any financial or administrative corruption through its official channels to protect public funds (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Nazaha urged the public to report any financial or administrative corruption through its official channels to protect public funds (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia’s Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) has detained 155 individuals, including citizens and residents, following investigations into 382 suspects in various corruption cases, some linked to the Hajj season.

The Nazaha said in a statement on its X account on Monday that its officials carried out a total of 924 inspection raids during the last month of June.

The Nazaha initiated a number of criminal and administrative cases following the oversight rounds in June, which resulted in the investigation of cases against 382 officials accused of various corruption charges.

These officials are from the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Transport and Logistics, and Ministry of Culture, in addition to the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority.

Out of the 155 detained, some were released on bail. They face charges of bribery, abuse of power, forgery, and money laundering. Nazaha is finalizing legal procedures to refer these cases to court.

The authority urged the public to report any financial or administrative corruption through its official channels to protect public funds.

This year’s Hajj season saw a rise in fraudulent campaigns, with 160 compared to 83 last year. These fake campaigns led to the deaths of 1,079 unregistered pilgrims due to heat exhaustion while walking long distances without proper transportation and accommodations.

Authorities deported over 256,000 visitors with non-Hajj visas and sent back 250,400 non-residents from Makkah.

Despite continuous warnings from Saudi authorities about the importance of legal Hajj pilgrimages and adhering to medical advice to cope with high temperatures and heat stress, Health Minister Fahd Al-Jalajel said authorities managed a significant number of affected individuals, some of whom are still receiving care.

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Taiwan’s Representative to Saudi Arabia: 260,000 Pagers Exported in Two Years

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Taiwan’s Representative to Saudi Arabia: 260,000 Pagers Exported in Two Years

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Taiwan is investigating who is responsible for modifying the pagers that were turned into explosives in the hands of the Lebanese people, including members of Hezbollah.

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang told Asharq Al-Awsat that 260,000 pagers were exported from his country between 2022 and 2024, and 16 percent of them were sent to the United States and Europe.

He expressed his regret that the pagers were planted with explosives that were used in the attack in Lebanon last month, clarifying that the devices were not directly exported from Taiwan to Lebanon.

He explained that the components of the device are made of material that is not liable to explode.

Apollo Gold, the Taiwanese company that exported the pagers between 2022 and 2024, has never received any complaints that its devices have caused harm or exploded.

The attack in Lebanon has raised several questions and they are being probed by authorities in Taiwan, he went on to say.

One thing is for certain, the devices were not harmful in the shape they were exported from the country, stressed Chang.

Asked about whether the attack may harm Taiwan’s economy, he replied that his country’s industry sector has a strong reputation that will be difficult to undermine given the trust it has from clients.

The size of the sector and Taiwan’s investments cannot be measured by a small number of pagers, as they only make up a mere fraction in the country’s trade relations with countries all over the world, he stressed.

Separately, Chang revealed that Taiwan was considering cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the chip industry, saying he was optimistic over the broad potential for cooperation in the technology sector.

There are no limits to the cooperation between them, he added.

Taiwan constantly wants to maintain the relations and discuss opportunities for joint investments, he stated.

Taiwan was among the first countries to leap to cooperate with Saudi Arabia in all fields to help the Kingdom achieve its Vision 2030 that is spearheaded by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Chang said.