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A municipal worker posts a closure notice on a shopping market in Taif in Saudi Arabia. Illustative image. Image Credit: Supplied

Cairo: A Saudi state anti-corruption watchdog has said that informing against suspected cases should not necessarily be based on certitude, as the kingdom pursues a relentless clampdown on graft.

The Control and Anti-Corruption Authority pointed out that the whistleblower should not be certain of the presence of a corruption case, but can make do with reporting facts that can be looked into and followed.

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The watchdog, known as Nazah, said reports against suspected corruption can be filed in several ways: via its website, a toll-free hotline, by personal showing up, text messaging or ordinary mail.

Nazah disclosed that putting a report about alleged corruption on hold does not mean its content is disregarded, explaining that a follow-up inquiry about the report can be conducted via its unified phone number 19991 during official working hours.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has stepped up a crackdown on white-collar corruption, arresting dozens of state employees and entrepreneurs.

Earlier this month, Nazah said 107 people had been arrested for suspected graft in one month of inspections at several government institutions.

They are suspected of involvement in bribery, influence peddling, money laundering and forgery.

The watchdog added that the official institutions covered by its monitoring tours this past Islamic month of Muharram included ministries of the interior, defence, justice, health, education and municipal affairs.

In May, Nazha said 84 government employees had been arrested on suspicion of involvement in bribery, job exploitation, money laundering and forgery.

Last March, the watchdog uncovered a multi-million-riyal graft case involving diplomats, security personnel and expatriates linked to illegal trade in labour visas.

At the time, the agency released the names of 13 suspects, including two diplomats who worked at the Saudi embassy in Bangladesh.