The Saudi Control and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) has initiated a total of 105 corruption cases in the sectors of health, interior and education, involving fraud, bribery, and financial and professional corruption.
Quoting an official at the Authority, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) stressed the Kingdom will continue to pursue cases of public money misappropriation and the harm of state interests.
One of the cases involves the arrest of three employees working at the Saudi Electricity Company for receiving a bribe amounting to 535,000 euros from a French company and opening bank accounts in another country (at the request of the company) for money laundering purposes.
Another case is the arrest of a university faculty member for asking a bribe amounting to SR 80,000 from a number of operating companies, as well as requesting 20 percent from one of the university contracts with the operating companies, using his position for influence.
The Authority also arrested a doctor at the Ministry of Health for violating the regulations at a quarantine facility for coronavirus infections.
The doctor allowed an uninfected person into the quarantine building to be with her family and then allowed the same family to return home before totally recovering from the virus, exploiting his post at the facility.
A different case involved the arrest of a brigadier general for exploiting his position and using the work vehicle to facilitate the passage of another private vehicle through security points during the curfew period.
The Authority, in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, arrested a person working at the police department for asking a bribe from expatriates in exchange for canceling violations of the curfew, taking advantage of the nature of his work.
Moreover, two employees of an electricity company and project engineers were arrested for manipulating the specifications of some projects, which resulted in an increase in one of the projects by SR 400,000, breaching their job duties and obtaining bribes.
Nazaha hailed the efforts of government agencies in combating financial and administrative corruption and setting policies and procedures that enhance performance efficiency and speed.
It also commended the cooperation of the relevant authorities, through the available channels, by reporting practices that involve financial or administrative corruption that undermine the Kingdom’s efforts to support and bolster the comprehensive development process.
