Saudi Arabia’s fight against corruption and its disastrous repercussions on human and economic development goes beyond guarding its internal environment to promoting its role in defending the international community from the effects of the dangerous scourge.
The Saudi Presidency of the G20 has taken the initiative to establish a global network of operations for law enforcement authorities concerned with combating corruption. This comes to complement existing counter-corruption platforms fount in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and Interpol.
“We will continue to lead by example in the global fight against corruption. In this regard, we welcome the first G20 Anti-Corruption Ministerial Meeting. We will continue to promote global integrity in response to the pandemic, and we endorse the G20 Call to Action on Corruption and COVID-19,” read the final communique of the G20 leaders at the end of the G20 Riyadh Summit.
The Riyadh initiative has received international praise and welcome for working to protect world security.
Saudi Arabia enjoys a long history in fighting against all kinds of corruption. It has established many laws and regulations that create and provide a healthy societal environment and protect businesses.
Many committees were formed at relevant ministries to fight all forms of corruption.
In 2011, the Kingdom founded the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha) to protect public money.
In 2019, King Salman, heeding recommendations made by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, ordered merging the Control and Investigation Board and Administrative Investigations under Nazaha.
The era overseen by the Saudi Crown marked a turning point in the fight against corruption, not only in Saudi Arabia, but also the region as a whole.
Saudi anti-corruption measures have received international praise that valued their ability to advance and safeguard one of the world's most prominent emerging economies, impacting the international economy.
Riyadh has intensified its strenuous efforts in combating corruption by sharing its experiences with countries around the world, concluding numerous agreements and MoUs.
G20 anti-corruption ministers have stressed the importance of existing international anti-corruption architecture, particularly the obligations and commitments outlined in the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and related instruments, and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Standards.
According to the ministers, these instruments collectively comprise a strong set of measures which countries should put in place to prevent and combat corruption, money laundering and other related serious economic crimes.
