DAMMAM — The general court in Dammam has issued orders to arrest a bank employee in the Eastern Province after he conned SR30 million out of a number of Saudis. The court said the employee took money from a number of people after promising that he would invest their money in buying and selling cars and real estate units and pay them interest at a rate of 10 percent. Um Mohammed, one of the victims, said she inherited SR4 million from her father after he died and deposited the money at a Dammam bank. She said she soon received a call from an employee at the bank who claimed to be the director of the special services division. “He offered me a number of lucrative options to invest my money and told me that he had immense power and facilities and would give me monthly interest,” she said. Um Mohammed said she had willingly accepted his offer and transferred her money to his account. “He paid me the interest for 18 months before he abruptly stopped,” she said. Um Mohammed said she tried to reach him but he did not respond. “He did not answer my calls or text messages and finally switched off his mobile phone,” she said. She said she and other victims complained to the police and the court about him. She said: “The court sentenced him to jail in absentia but the Interior Ministry has not been able to arrest him. “He has been on the loose for five months now.” A number of victims said the bank that the con man was working for did not take any action against him. They alleged that the bank was still letting him take sick leave even though it was aware of the court verdict against him. One of the victims said the man was seen receiving condolences after the death of his grandfather but police said they were not willing to arrest him on such an occasion. He said as soon as the event was over, the man disappeared in thin air. The victims said the man was again seen at his father's home in Dhahran, but police said they could not enter the house without a court order. Dammam police spokesman Lt. Col. Ziyad Al-Riqaiti said they received a number of complaints against the con man but were not able to arrest him until now. He said: “We are hectically searching for him. We will definitely arrest him and hand him over to the Bureau of Investigations and Public Prosecution, which will refer him to the court.”
