Saudi Arabia’s Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) announced on Tuesday that it has uncovered details of 17 criminal corruption cases investigated in recent weeks. The cases involve several government employees, both civilian and military, in addition to a Saudi citizen and three foreign residents. All are currently facing legal procedures.
In a statement, Nazaha said one case involved an employee at the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, who allegedly received SAR 1,625,000 in exchange for illegally issuing a quarry license to a company owned by a foreign investor, who was also arrested.
Another case involved a citizen detained while receiving SAR 85,000 of an agreed SAR 110,000 to cancel a demolition order on farmland that lacked ownership documentation. Investigations revealed that two municipal employees were also paid to halt demolition orders. Both were subsequently taken into custody.
Nazaha revealed that four other municipal employees were arrested for financial misconduct. One was caught accepting SAR 195,000 in return for awarding a contract unlawfully to a commercial entity. Another received part of a SAR 240,000 bribe to facilitate an irregular payment of more than SAR 8,303,000 to a company.
A third accepted flight tickets for himself and his family from a contractor’s employee in return for facilitating payment procedures. A fourth, employed as a market inspector, extorted SAR 7,500 and tobacco products from a business without any legal justification.
Nazaha added that two non-commissioned officers were detained: one from the General Directorate of Civil Defense for taking SAR 10,430 to illegally issue a commercial permit, and another from the Ministry of Defense for receiving payments from women in exchange for promises of employment.
The director of a water desalination plant was also arrested for accepting SAR 35,000 from a contracting company in exchange for overlooking violations, while a resident working at a medical complex was caught taking a payment to help someone bypass a licensing exam.
Seven additional employees were detained in separate cases involving embezzlement, bribery, and abuse of authority across multiple sectors, including healthcare, the judiciary, taxation, labor, tourism, and utilities.
Nazaha reaffirmed its commitment to pursuing anyone who abuses public office or embezzles public funds, emphasizing that legal action continues even after an employee leaves their post.
The authority stressed that financial and administrative corruption crimes do not expire, and that penalties will be applied without exception or leniency.
