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Saudi Arabia Continues to Exert Anti-corruption Efforts

Saudi Arabia Continues to Exert Anti-corruption Efforts
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Saudi Arabia Continues to Exert Anti-corruption Efforts

Saudi Arabia Continues to Exert Anti-corruption Efforts

Saudi Arabia continues to fight corruption in all major and minor circles as part of its efforts to strengthen and achieve the pillars of Kingdom Vision 2030. It also continues to publish the results of this fight monthly through the Control and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha).

Vision 2030 and its pillars stipulate that corruption is destroyed in all its forms and that all individuals involved in financial and administrative corruption cases be held accountable. A commitment to transparency and integrity has been undertaken by Nazaha.

Countering corruption in the Kingdom has culminated with the return of billions of riyals to the state’s public treasury and the referral of a host of corrupt individuals to public prosecution for trial.

Saudi Arabia’s pursuit of international cooperation on anti-corruption challenges lies in continuing to emphasize the importance of confronting it and raising the level of accountability and integrity, which came after the announcement issued by Nazaha last February, which was welcomed by the G20.

Saudi Arabia is the 51 least corrupt nation out of 180 countries, according to the 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index reported by Transparency International.

Saudi counter-corruption efforts were further bolstered in November 2017 after a royal decree warranted the establishment of a supreme committee headed by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. The committee was later restructured in 2019 to follow up issues pertaining to public funds and corruption cases.

The committee’s role is to set up an inventory of violations, crimes, individuals and entities that are connected to corruption cases. It sets up an investigation and then presents a detailed report to the Saudi King.

The committee had reopened investigations into the Jeddah flashfloods, which took place in November 2009 which led to the death of 116 and the disappearance of over 350 individuals.

Saudi newspapers dealt with the flashfloods as an important local corruption case. The committee accused, in this case, over 320 individuals who were involved.

More so, the committee continued its work to publish a list directed to dozens of Saudi princes, officials and businessmen accused of many cases including bribery, embezzlement, money laundering and the exploitation of influence.

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Who’s in the Frame to Be Lebanon’s Next President?

The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
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Who’s in the Frame to Be Lebanon’s Next President?

The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)

Lebanon's parliament will attempt to elect a new head of state on Thursday, with officials seeing better odds of success in a political landscape shaken by Israel's assault on Hezbollah and the toppling of the group's ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

The post, reserved for a Maronite Christian in the sectarian power-sharing system, has been vacant since Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022.

While there are always many Maronite hopefuls, including the leaders of the two largest Christian parties - Samir Geagea and Gebran Bassil - sources say the focus is currently on the following three names:

JOSEPH AOUN

General Joseph Aoun, 60, has been commander of the US-backed Lebanese army since 2017, leading the military through a devastating financial crisis that paralyzed much of the Lebanese state after the banking system collapsed in 2019.

On Aoun's watch, US aid continued to flow to the army, part of a US policy focused on supporting state institutions to curb the influence of the heavily armed, Iran-backed Hezbollah, which Washington deems a terrorist group.

Shortly after his appointment, the army waged an offensive to clear ISIS militants from an enclave at the Syrian border, drawing praise from the US ambassador at the time who said the military had done an "excellent job".

His training has included two infantry officer courses in the United States.

Lebanese politicians have said Aoun's candidacy enjoys US approval. A State Department spokesperson said it was "up to Lebanon to choose its next president, not the United States or any external actor".

Hezbollah official Wafiq Safa has said last week there was "no veto" on Aoun. But sources familiar with Hezbollah thinking say it will not support Aoun.

His candidacy has also been opposed by Lebanon's two largest Christian parties - the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement.

Three other former army chiefs - Emile Lahoud, Michel Suleiman and Michel Aoun - have served as president.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri - a Hezbollah ally - has said the constitution would need to be amended in order for Aoun to take the post. It currently forbids a serving state official from becoming head of state.

JIHAD AZOUR

Azour, 58, served as finance minister in the Western-backed government of former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora between 2005 and 2008, a period of intense political conflict in Lebanon pitting factions backed by Iran and Syria against others supported by the West.

Since 2017, he has served as Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He holds a PhD in International Finance and a post-graduate degree in International Economics and Finance, both from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris.

He first emerged as a presidential candidate in 2023, when factions including both of the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement voted for him. He received 59 votes.

Hezbollah and its closest allies voted for Suleiman Franjieh in that session - the last time parliament attempted to elect a head of state. Franjieh secured 51 votes.

Hezbollah at the time described Azour as a confrontational candidate - a reference to his role in the Siniora cabinet.

Azour said at the time that his candidacy was not intended as a challenge to anyone, but rather "a call for unity, for breaking down alignments and for a search for common ground in order to get out of the crisis".

ELIAS AL-BAYSARI

Major-General Elias Baysari, 60, has been interim head of the General Security directorate since the term of his predecessor, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, ended in 2023 with no consensus among Lebanese factions on who should replace him.

The security agency Baysari runs is Lebanon's most powerful internal security force, running Lebanon's border crossings and domestic intelligence operations.

He was a little-known figure in Lebanese public life until his promotion to the head of General Security.

He holds a PhD in law from the Lebanese University.