The Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) has initiated 120 criminal cases recently, while 184 citizen and expatriates have been arrested and investigated with formal procedures against them under way, according to an official source. The source highlighted some of the prominent cases that are under way. The first case was a continuation of what was announced on 1/2/1442 H and 28/2/1442 H about the available information on the suspicion of corruption acts by a number of municipality employees in one of the governorates, where one of them exploited the influence of the public office to illegally disburse an amount of SR110,006,545 for the benefit of several commercial entities. An amount of SR38,378,411 has been recovered and procedure is under way to recover the remainder of the disbursed total amount. The second case cited the arrest of the Chairman of board of Directors of a chamber of commerce in one of the regions for having transferred an amount of SR8,000,000 from the chamber's of commerce bank account and using it to issue a check for the enforcement court to pay a financial claim for a citizen. The third case saw the arrest of citizens and an Arab expatriate. In cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, an officer and non-commissioned officer working in the Civil Defense in one of the regions, in addition to an Arab expatriate who works for an enterprise specialized in the field of safety were arrested. The first and second accused established the enterprise (in which the expatriate worked) under the name of another citizen, where they created complications and held back other enterprises that were seeking to obtain safety licenses from the Civil Defense in order to force them to contract with the their enterprise. The amount obtained by the first reached up to SR5,948,572. The fourth case too involved an officer. In cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, the officer with the rank of a lieutenant colonel working in one of the sectors of the Ministry was arrested for obtaining an amount of SR2,000,000 from an owner of a company in exchange for facilitating the issuance of necessary licenses for the company. The fifth case, 3 non-commissioned officers who work in the traffic police, 6 former employees that worked for an insurance company, and 5 citizens were arrested for faking traffic accidents and obtaining fraudulent financial compensation from the insurance company totaling SR1,918,167. The sixth case, in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior and the General Customs Authority, led to the arrest of 3 expatriates of Asian origin, who were caught red handed for having offered an amount of SR1,590,000 in exchange for a clearance of prohibited items that were seized by the customs. The seventh case saw the arrest of a notary public for issuing 33 procuration letters in an illegal manner, in addition, to offering an amount of SR1,500,000 to one of those affected by one of these letters in exchange for not submitting a complaint against him. The eighth case led to the arrest of the assistant to the General Director of the Health Affairs in one of the regions and an Arab expatriate who worked in his department for manipulating official documents with incorrect information regarding unexecuted work by a contracting enterprise owned by the mother of the wife of the first accused, "who had a power of attorney for her bank accounts", with the aim of disbursing the value of the contract which is SR204,000. The ninth case led to the arrest of a non-commissioned officer, in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, who works in the Narcotics Control Department in one of the regions for receiving an amount of SR5,000 from an expatriate in exchange for canceling his travel ban. The Authority affirms to pursue anyone who exploits the public office to achieve personal gain or harm the public interest in any way possible, and that accountability extends far beyond the retirement of any individual, as the crimes of financial and administrative corruption have no statute of limitations, and that it will apply what the law rules against the violators with zero tolerance. It in addition, the Authority notes that Article (16) of the Anti-Bribery Law exempts the briber or mediator from the original and ancillary penalties if he/she informs the authorities of the crime before its discovery. The Authority also appreciates the efforts of government entities in fighting financial and administrative corruption and the development of policies and procedures that promote speedy achievements, which shut any inlets for corruption. It commends the cooperation of those entities and the media for their effort in promoting integrity, transparency and fighting corruption. It thanks the citizens and residents for reporting through its available channels, 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 in light of Vision 2030. — SG
