RIYADH — Saudi Arabia's Control and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) has initiated a total of 117 financial and administrative corruption cases during the holy month of Ramadan this year. The authority has given the details of some of the cases which are as follows: 1. Two employees of one of the security companies exploited the state support for private sector companies affected by the coronavirus pandemic, covering 60 percent salaries of Saudi employees. They registered a number of the company's employees in the Saned unemployment insurance program and entered data contrary to the truth in exchange for them getting 50 percent of the support provided to each employee, and added on that the company continues to pay their salaries in full, and they were investigated with and their referral is underway to the competent court. 2. An employee of the Ministry of Tourism violated his job duties and received bribes in partnership with 13 people in exchange for following the procedures for awarding lease contracts for a number of hotels in Jeddah which the government is renting to provide housing service for citizens returning from abroad to spend the quarantine period. They went under investigation and their referral is underway to the competent court. 3. Three workers in the private sector were involved in offering a bribe to some employees of the Ministry of Health to violate their job duties in lease contracts for the ministry to provide quarantine in hotels, and they were arrested and investigated with. Their referral is underway to the competent court. 4. Five people, including two employees of the General Authority of Zakat and Tax, were involved in bribe incidents through an employee obtaining bribes from three people working in two accounting, auditing, and tax & zakat consultancy offices in exchange for preparing notes to reduce tax bills of several companies. The value of one of these bills exceeded SR30 million, and the other employee of the Tax & Zakat Authority followed up on the beneficiaries' transactions in exchange for receiving sums of bribery, and they were arrested and investigated with. Their referral is underway to the competent court. 5: One lawyer, three administrators of the Public Prosecution, and a security man in the General Directorate of Prisons were involved in bribes through the lawyer who exploited his work previously as a member of the Public Prosecution and provided bribes to two of its administrators in exchange for providing him with some information and documents pertaining to some cases, in exchange, for directing the defendants to his office to hire him in these cases. He also requested nepotism from another administrator in the Public Prosecution and from a security man who works as a case warden in a prison for the purpose of providing him with some documents and information pertaining to some of the defendants. They have been arrested and investigated with, and their referral is underway to the competent court. 6: Two people have submitted a sum of money as a bribe to an employee of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu in exchange for illegally issuing a commercial license. They were apprehended red handed and the legal procedures against them are underway. The Authority affirms on the continuation to pursue anyone who exploits the public office to achieve personal gain or harm the public interest in any way possible, and that it is continuing to hold the negligent parties accountable and apply what the law rules against them. The Authority also appreciates the efforts of government entities in fighting financial and administrative corruption and the development of policies and procedures that promotes speedy achievements and that shuts any inlets for corruption. The Authority commends the cooperation of everyone in reporting through its available channels to receive reports, including the toll free number (980) for any practices involving financial or administrative corruption that would undermine the efforts of the government to support and promote the path of comprehensive development. The Authority also extends its thanks and appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman for the unlimited support and continuous directives in exercising its jurisdiction and performing its tasks in fighting financial and administrative corruption in all its forms and manifestations.
