Saudi Arabia: Chief Justice, seven judges prosecuted for bribery, money laundering

Abu Dhabi: A Saudi chief justice and seven other judges are being prosecuted for bribery, money laundering and influence peddling, in the latest crackdown on high-profile offenders in the Saudi Arabia, local media reported.

A hearing was held to try the chief justice, charged with reciving a bribe, money laundering and abusing of his office, Okaz learned.

Sources said that the security authorities arrested the accused judge at dawn, and a sum of money and mobile devices were seized, and accomplices were arrested.

Earlier, the Control and Anti-Corruption Authority said that a judge was arrested along with his brother, who is an officer with a rank of colonel, a businessman and a lawyer for involvement in bribery, money laundering, seizing public money, abuse of power and misuse of administrative authority.

The case started with a report that the judge had received bribes linked to lawsuits and was illegally involved in trade, a source at the watchdog said.

Investigations proved the authenticity of the report filed against the judge and involvement of others including a middleman appointed by him to receive the bribes in collaboration with the judge’s brother, the businessman and the lawyer.

All those arrested in the case admitted in investigations to the charges levelled against them, the source said.

The judges were arrested after finalising relevant procedures from the Supreme Council for Judiciary in accordance with the Saudi judicial system, the watchdog said.

It called the suspected judges’ conduct an “isolated act” unrepresentative of judges’ integrity in Saudi Arabia.