A total of 271 people — citizens and expatriates — have been arrested for their alleged involvement in corruption, Saudi Arabia's anti-graft authority has said on Thursday. In a statement, the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) said that the accused included employees of the ministries of defense, interior, national guard, health, justice, finance, municipal and rural affairs and housing, environment and water, education, human resources and social development and the oversight and anti-corruption authority and zakat, tax and customs authority. The charges framed against them included bribery, abuse of power and office and forgery. They were arrested during 10329 inspection raids carried out by the Nazaha teams during the month of Safar. The arrest of the suspects was made after carrying out investigations into the alleged role of 639 people. Nazaha said that the legal procedures are being completed prior to referring them to courts. The commission called on everyone to report, in the event of noticing any suspicious activities involving financial or administrative corruption, by contacting the toll free number 980 or website www.nazaha.gov.sa or email 980 @ nazaha.gov.sa or fax: 0114420057.
