A senior official at the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) said that a former official of the Ministry of Agriculture is being investigated on charges of abusing power to earn money illegally. The source said the NACC was tipped off from a citizen that the official, who worked at the department of land classification, earned money illegally by abusing his power. The official knew about the strategic locations of important lands and allegedly gave them to people based on an agreement that they would authorize him to sell the land and give him a share of benefit, the caller told NACC. On preliminary investigations, the NACC found that the official did have authorization letters from some citizens that gave him the power to sell lands and earn profit, the source added, according to a report in Al-Youm newspaper. “NACC is following up with the case and has sent letters to concerned authorities to investigate into the violations committed by the official throughout the period he worked for the ministry and see if other officials were also involved,” the source said. The NACC said it brought up the issue to underscore that any governmental official will be held accountable even if he is no longer working. The commission has called upon all citizens to cooperate and report any case of corruption. The corruption case comes after the uncovering of theft of medical equipments from Ministry of Health's warehouse, he said.
