As part of the Kingdom’s efforts to counter corruption, Saudi inspectors are pursuing a former corrupt official who escaped to Canada.
Saad Al-Jabri, the former top Saudi official, and a group of men he led while he was working at the Ministry of Interior wasted $11 billion in government funds, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
The Saudi authorities issued extradition requests and requested Interpol for a notice.
US intelligence agencies sources who spoke to WSJ said al-Jabri, who is now an international fugitive, ran a special interior ministry fund that was focused on high-level counter-terrorism efforts. The paper said he had misspent $11 billion over 17 years to pay himself, his family, and acquaintances in bonuses.
“Al-Jabri, a 61-year-old with a doctorate in computer science, was the effective No. 2 in the Interior Ministry, which was run for years by Prince Muhammad bin Naif.”
“Al-Jabri ran a special ministry fund that mixed government spending on high-priority antiterrorism efforts with bonuses for al-Jabri and others, according to documents reviewed by the Journal and interviews with Saudi officials and Mr. Jabri’s confidants,” the WSJ report read.
“In the 17 years he oversaw the fund, $19.7 billion flowed through it. The government claims $11 billion was spent improperly through overpayments on contracts or was diverted to destinations including overseas bank accounts controlled by al-Jabri, his family and his associates,” the report said.
Documents seen by the WSJ and corroborated by corporate filings in Saudi Arabia showed that the funds originating from the special unit was funneled through a company called Technology Control Co. which was funded by the ministry itself but also owned at times by al-Jabri’s brother, his nephew and two close associates.
“Technology Control was transferred to the government. Saudi investigators discovered that the Interior Ministry paid the company more than $11,000 a piece for 2,000 secure landline and mobile phones that cost $500 to manufacture, according to the people familiar with the investigation. The equipment was later discarded because it didn’t work well,” the WSJ reported citing people familiar with the investigation from Saudi Arabia.
