President of Saudi Arabia’s National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha) Dr. Khaled bin Abdulmohsen al-Muhaisen confirmed that the commission has expanded the channels of receiving complaints, which contributed to an increase in their number.
“The number of complaints by the end of this year is expected to increase to more than 8,000. As a result, the cases referred to the Public Prosecutor's Office increased by 59 percent and the cases referred to the Monitoring and Investigation Commission increased by 100 percent.
In his speech at the Sixth Annual Forum, "Integrity in Criminal Justice Institutions", Muhaisen said that the commission is working in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance to develop a new online purchasing system.
The new system will comprise 20 new criteria to inspect cases of fraud, administrative corruption and misappropriation of public funds, he explained.
He stated that the commission looks forward to the participation of the public and private sectors and civil society institutions to consolidate the values of integrity, transparency and fighting corruption, thus contributing to the realization of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, which made transparency, integrity and anti-corruption its main goals.
Secretary General of the Muslim World League Dr. Mohammad bin Abdulkarim al-Issa referred to corruption as a “black hole” that hinders the development process of a nation and called for confronting this menace through all possible means.
Addressing the gatherers at the forum, Issa, who is a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, gave a presentation about the different meanings and kinds of corruption.
He described the extremists’ skewed interpretation of the religion as intellectual corruption.
“Corruption could also be moral,” he said, adding that financial corruption is often preceded by administrative corruption.
Issa said: “Our world is not programmed. It is a world of choice, test and free interaction. Corruption is therefore present and should be confronted in all ways possible.”
He stressed the need to fight corruption to achieve development goals.
“Fighting corruption represents a measure of development,” he said.
