Saudi Arabia cracks down on corruption, unveils major criminal cases
Legal measures underway against accused in several departments
Dubai: The Saudi Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority has initiated a number of criminal cases against officials in various departments in public and private sectors.
The Authority announced that legal procedures are underway against the accused.
Among the notable cases are detention of two bank employees for colluding with a resident to deposit illicit amount of over SR7.3 million into commercial entities’ bank accounts, circumventing verification procedures, arrest of an “Injury Assessor” at the Criminal Court for orchestrating a fraudulent compensation claim of SR687,000 with the aid of a citizen mediator, based on falsified medical reports, detention of a resident for unlawfully awarding government contracts worth SR917,000 to a commercial entity lacking proper classification, arrest of an employee at a University Hospital for accepting bribes of SR100,000 from citizens in exchange for employment promises and an employee at an airline company was apprehended for smuggling 858 pieces of gold into the Kingdom.
These arrests are part of a broader crackdown reflecting Saudi Arabia’s commitment to eradicate corruption across all levels of government and public services.
The Authority confirmed that these efforts are part of a continuous initiative to pursue anyone exploiting their public office for personal gain, emphasizing that there is no statute of limitations for these crimes.
2. An "Injury Assessor" at the Criminal Court was apprehended for orchestrating a fraudulent compensation claim of 687,000 SR with the aid of a citizen mediator, based on falsified medical reports.
3. A resident was detained for unlawfully awarding government contracts worth 917,000 SR to a commercial entity lacking proper classification.
4. A Security officer at the General Department of Traffic faced charges for accepting bribes totaling 387,000 SR to manipulate vehicle data.
5. An expert appointed by the Commercial Court was arrested for accepting bribes to fabricate technical reports.
6. An employee at the Social Development Bank was apprehended for illicitly facilitating financing procedures for new projects in exchange for 100,000 SR.
7. A resident was arrested for attempting to bribe an officer at the General Directorate of Narcotics Control with 55,000 SR for their release.
8. An employee in a municipality was detained for coercing individuals to contract with a public services office in exchange for completing their paperwork.
9. The Head of the Buildings and Encroachments Department in a municipality, along with a citizen mediator, was apprehended for accepting bribes of 30,000 SR to overlook building violations.
10. Two residents working for a contracting company with the National Water Company were arrested for accepting bribes of 15,000 SR to cancel a 500,000 SR water bill.
11. The Director of Operations and Maintenance in the Education Department was detained for soliciting 34,500 SR to expedite financial procedures for a commercial entity contracting with the department.
12. A Non-Commissioned officer at the General Directorate of Passports was arrested for accepting bribes to expedite paperwork procedures for a citizen's children in exchange for 15,000 SR.
13. An employee at a University Hospital was apprehended for accepting bribes of 100,000 SR from citizens in exchange for employment promises.
14. A resident was arrested for accepting bribes of 14,000 SR to illegally provide sewage services to a citizen's home.
15. Two residents acting as mediators were detained for accepting bribes of 5,000 SR to illegally close a case with the Criminal Investigation Department.
16. The Head of the Nationalization Committee at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development was arrested for accepting bribes of 26,000 SR to overlook violations by a commercial store.
17. A nursing technician at a hospital affiliated with the Ministry of Defense was apprehended for stealing medicines with the intention to trade them with two residents.
18. A nurse at a government hospital was detained for illegally obtaining narcotic medical drugs subject to regulation.
19. An employee in a municipality was arrested for accepting bribes of 1,500 SR to issue a technical report for a property, enabling the property owner to obtain financial support.
20. An employee at an airline company was apprehended for smuggling 858 pieces of gold into the Kingdom.