An official source in the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority stated that the Authority has initiated a number of criminal cases lately, and legal procedures against the accused individuals are underway.
The most prominent cases were:
The first case: With the cooperation of the Ministry of National Guard, a Major General, along with three retired officers holding the rank of a Major General, were investigated with for their illicit activities during their work at the ministry, where they received installments (amounting to 212,222,000 Saudi Riyals) from an owner of a local company representing foreign companies.
The second case: A Director of the Projects Management Department in a major contracting company was arrested for paying financial installments of 24,000,000 Saudi riyals, and 500,000 Saudi riyals in the form of travel expenses for government employees and their family members, in return for manipulating the quantities and requirements of government projects. A retired Lieutenant Colonel, a retired Brigadier General and a retired government employee, holding the 13th rank in the Ministry of Interior, were arrested, as well as investigated with another retired Major General of the Ministry of National Guard for receiving 2,000,000 Saudi riyals in cash and a 50,000,000 Saudi riyal cheque that has not been cashed. Another retired employee from the Ministry of Interior was investigated with for receiving paid travel expenses from the company.
The third case: A retired Colonel of the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority and a citizen were arrested for the involvement of the retired General contacting individuals accused of corruption, claiming that he had kept their cases from processing in exchange for financial bribes (to be received by the involved arrested citizen).
The fourth case: Two employees of the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority were arrested for breaching their official duties.
The fifth case: A noncommissioned officer of the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority was arrested for contacting a citizen claiming that there was a corruption case against him, in order to pressure him to drop a financial lawsuit which was filed against a relative of the Authority’s employee.
The sixth case: A former vice rector was arrested after authorities discovered a substantial increase in his bank accounts (13,000,000 Saudi Riyals) and real estate assets (19 properties). His bank statements showed that he received deposits and transfers from contracting commercial entities with the university during his supervision of the university’s project department.
The seventh case: With the cooperation of the Ministry of Interior, a military personnel entrusted with ammunition depot, along with two citizens, were arrested for allowing the said citizens to have unauthorized obtainment of 12,467 bullets in return for 51,000 Saudi riyals.
The eighth case: With the cooperation of the Ministry of Interior, three military officers and a resident (detained for violating the residency law) were arrested due to the officers releasing the resident from a police department in exchange for a bribe of 15,000 Saudi riyals.
The ninth case: A noncommissioned officer in a regional Police Department (assigned to work in the Infringement Removal Committee) was arrested for a substantial increase in his bank accounts, where the deposits amounted to 30,000,000 Saudi riyals. An investigation revealed that the deposits came from the officer selling random lands, with no deeds, in the areas he was in charge of removing the infringements.
The tenth case: A former Head of the Review Board in one of the General Courts was arrested for receiving 2,000,000 Saudi riyals from an owner of a property (also arrested), in exchange for completing the ownership transfer process of a land owned by a Cooperative Association.
The eleventh case: Head of a charity association was arrested for awarding projects (amounting to 6,000,000 Saudi riyals) to commercial entities that he owned, as well as financing his entities' capital from the association’s funds.
The twelfth case: An employee of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development was arrested for receiving an installment of 20,000 Saudi riyals out of a promised 40,000 Saudi riyals, in exchange for expediting the finalization of a filed report of absence on a resident.
The thirteenth case: A municipality employee and an owner of a government paperwork clearance (expeditor) office were arrested for receiving 13,000 Saudi riyals in exchange for removing two fines imposed for violating COVID-19 precautionary measures.
The fourteenth case: With the cooperation of the Ministry of Interior, a noncommissioned officer was arrested for stealing 460,485 Saudi riyals he was entrusted with, which was supposed to have been used for subsistence allowance for prisoners.
The fifteenth case: A doctor working in a government hospital was arrested for establishing a private at-home clinic, utilizing the hospital’s laboratories for his private practice, as well as benefitting from illegally selling medication from the hospital’s pharmacy.
The sixteenth case: An employee of the Ministry of Commerce was arrested, for being caught in the act of receiving bribes from the owner of a commercial entity, in exchange for removing violations against the entity.
The seventeenth case: A bank employee and a citizen were arrested for the bank employee disclosing customer data to the citizen, in exchange for a financial bribe.
The eighteenth case: Two employees within a department of the Ministry of Education were arrested for illegally adding 211,412 Saudi riyals, from the ministry’s payroll account, to a paycheck of one of the accused individuals.
The nineteenth case: In coordination with the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, an engineer working in the commission was arrested for receiving a financial bribe from an executive director of a company in exchange for information related to a future procurement project.
The twentieth case: Two citizens were arrested for assaulting a public employee (Head of a Municipality), attempting to force him to expedite their application illegally.
The Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority affirms its stance to pursue and hold accountability to any individual who uses force, violence or threats against any public official in order to force them to avoid doing their legal duties, as well as individuals who abuse or exploits public funds for personal gain or to harm the public interest. Crimes of financial and administrative corruption have no statute of limitations and the accountability extends beyond the retirement date of any individual. The Authority will continue to apply the law, with zero-tolerance against corruption.