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Saudi Arabia is fighting corruption

Abu Dhabi: a large-scale campaign against corruption began last month across Saudi Arabia. An official source in the Saudi anti-corruption Commission said that interrogations began last month in 127 cases, reports Gulfnews.

One of the most notable cases is influence the decisions of the Board of Directors of two companies and seek personal interests. The suspects were transferred to the Prosecutor’s office pending trial.

Investigators are also interested in another case. The businessman allegedly received 6 million SR (1.6 million In exchange for the company’s mediation in obtaining a contract with a government Agency in an irregular manner (bribery). He will stand trial in due course.

Another corruption case regards telecommunication. In cooperation with the Riyadh police, eight people, including three expatriates working for a company linked to a telecommunications company, were arrested on charges of involvement in SIM card fraud related to the use of these SIM cards in money laundering, other criminal activities and illegal trade. They will be transferred to the Prosecutor’s office for a trace.

Next case: eight companies across Saudi Arabia allegedly participated in fraudulent registration of employees who are not eligible for government aid packages allocated to people affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The suspects will be transferred to the Prosecutor’s office pending trial.

Police found out that the Director of the traffic Department, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, allegedly took the car as a bribe from the owner of the property leased by the Department, in exchange for renewing the lease. The suspect will appear in court in due course.

The head of the municipality of Riyadh allegedly signed contracts in his name with the company to receive a percentage of its profits in exchange for services illegally rendered to the company using his position. The suspect will be transferred to the Prosecutor’s office pending trial.

The last significant case is connected with  the official representative of the University, who  allegedly took bribes for providing illicit services to some students. The suspect will appear in court in due course.

Early Saudi crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud has announced the end of an anti-corruption campaign that lasted 15 months. As part of the campaign, the investigation questioned 381 representatives of business, officials and even the Royal family of Saudi Arabia, and 87 of those arrested were charged. The country managed to recover about 400 billion rials (about 106.6 billion dollars) in cash, as well as in the form of real estate, securities and other assets.