Cairo: A Saudi professional agency verifying documents last year detected 171 forged certificates or 2% of a total of 10,088 certificates furnished for examination, according to a media report.
The Saudi Organisation for Chartered and Professional Accountants (SOCPA) also found 135 other certificates unqualified for recognition in the kingdom, Al Watan reported without giving a breakdown.
In the meantime, SOCPA issued 202 professional licences, with those for chartered accountants taking the lead with 98, followed by those pertaining to VAT services with 55 and Zakat and income services with 26 licences.
Some 1,054 professionals last year obtained related certificates including 652 VAT specialists, 210 others getting an accounting technician’s certificate and 156 fellowship certificates.
Established in 1992, the Riyadh-based agency comprises 11,764 associate members.
Saudi authorities have recently stepped up efforts to expose forged education documents as part of endeavours to regulate the labour market in the kingdom, home to a large community of expatriate workers.
Saudi Public Prosecution has announced tough penalties for individuals found guilty of electronic forgery. Accordingly, persons found guilty of electronic forgery may face imprisonment for up to five years and a financial penalty of up to SR5 million.
Earlier this year, a court in the Saudi holy city of Mecca sentenced an Arab expatriate to one year in prison and levied an unspecified fine on him for forging his degree certificate. The court ordered the man be deported after serving the term.
The ruling came after the defendant was found guilty of forging a university degree in engineering.
