In the last two days, authorities in Madina have arrested five more people who are suspected of being involved in what sources said was a vast financial and administrative scam at the city's General Court. Ten people, including a former judge at the General Court, have been arrested and sources said 30 more people will be interrogated in the next few days. Those arrested include employees in different sections of the General Court, a businessman and a notary public. Investigators are pursuing another judge who is on annual leave. Authorities have already asked the Ministry of Interior to lift the immunity of a judge who has SR600 million in his bank account; an investigation showed that he was involved in seizing citizens' endowments totaling more than SR200 million, according to sources. Sources said that during Ramadan, the judge got SR15 million as commission for setting up an endowment and applied for an open leave. A group of lawyers reported these transgressions to Dr. Saleh Bin Humaid, Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council, when he visited the Madina General Court during Ramadan, the sources said. The scam was discovered when a group of businessmen quarreled over SR1 billion they collected in 10 years by illegally selling real estate and plots of land, according to sources, who said the businessmen took their dispute to court and authorities investigated the source of their wealth. Hamad Al-Sahli, one of the plaintiffs who assisted in exposing the scam, told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that the suspects seized property and land plots without legal grounds. The judge who is involved in the scam held a case of a Saudi businesswoman, who is identified as O.H., so some suspects could take over her mall worth SR12 million, the sources said. Sources, who described the group as gangsters, said a prominent lawyer led the operation and used his legal knowledge to circumvent the laws. In the course of searching for a runaway suspect, investigators found SR200 million in his bank account, which was frozen until the case is resolved, according to sources who added that authorities are working with Interpol to find him. Sources said a legal representative for one imam of the Prophet's Mosque, who also chairs two charitable societies in the region, is thought to be involved in the scam. A judge in the General Court who was dismissed some time ago and reinstated because of his personal relations is also under suspicion, the sources said.
