RIYADH — Saudi Arabia's anti-corruption authority has busted a criminal network involved in forging records of coronavirus status of citizens and residents alike for money. In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency late Thursday, an official source at the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) said the authority tracked it down after monitoring advertisements on social networking sites. According to Nazaha, it has initiated legal procedures against 12 people — 8 citizens and 4 residents — for their involvement in the crimes. After a thorough investigation and statements taken from the accused, the authority found out the involvement of two health sector employees in the network among others. The remaining 10 accused were either mediators or beneficiaries of fraudulent activities. The authority added in the statement that since actions of the accused will have severe negative effects on the efforts made by state agencies to combat the pandemic, it is firmly proceeding against the accused with the application of all required legal measures. The authority also said that it will continue to act against all those who exploit their official positions to achieve personal gain.
