An official source in the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority stated that the Authority has initiated several criminal cases lately, and legal procedures against the accused are underway.
The most prominent cases were:
1st case: A notary was arrested for receiving 4,461,500 SR through his brother (arrested) in exchange for illegally completing the ownership process of two lands as a “gift” to a businessman (arrested) and his sister without the knowledge of their father who owns the two lands.
2nd case: A retired Brigadier General at the Border Guard who used to work in the committee of border lands in one of the regions was arrested for receiving 10,000,000 SR in installments to accept requests for compensation of (15) citizens (arrested) for large areas of land that were owned illegally with his full knowledge of the violation.
3rd case: An engineer working as the Head of a Municipality in one of the governorates was arrested for receiving 350,000 SR from a businessman in exchange for issuing fake approval certificates for his commercial entity. Those approval certificates amounted to 435,000 SR along with signing the related completion certificates for the disbursement of the financial dues.
4th case: A citizen was arrested for being caught in the act of receiving 12,500 out of a promised 32,000 SR, in exchange for canceling (16) violations registered on a company in the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.
5th case: 9 operators at the Ministry of Health and 6 mediators (residents) were arrested for receiving money in exchange for modifying the health status of a number of citizens to (immune) without receiving the vaccine.
6th case: A resident who works as a university lecturer was arrested for receiving 2,000 SR from a student in exchange for his assistance in passing two exams.
7th case: Two residents were arrested for being caught in the act of offering to bank employees 3 SR for every 1,000 SR deposited in cash, in exchange for not informing the authorities, as well as 199,000 SR was found in their possession. After thorough investigations, it was found that the total deposited cash reached up to 7,500,000 SR.
8th case: An employee working in a Municipality of one of the regions, a citizen, and a resident (mediators) were arrested for receiving sums of money from the owners of some stores, amounted to 132,350 SR, in exchange for the municipal employee to ignore their violations.
9th case: An employee working in the Recruitment Department at a Public Hospital in one of the regions was arrested for requesting 13,000 SR (he received 1,000 SR as a first payment) from a female citizen in exchange for employing her and her sister in the hospital.
10th case: Two residents were arrested for offering 28,000 SR to an officer in exchange for removing the name of one of them from the suspended services list.
11th case: Two employees working in a Municipality of one of the regions were arrested for receiving sums of money in exchange for removing a violation of not wearing a mask for a resident who works in a car repair shop.
12th case: With the cooperation of the Ministry of Interior, an officer and a resident were arrested for forming a criminal gang through which they locate workers who violate the residency law, arrest them, and receive sums of money from them in exchange for their release.
13th case: An employee working in the Field Committee of the border lands in one of the regions was arrested for stealing a land and illegally issuing a temporary deed for it.
The Authority also exercised its jurisdiction in several cases, and the perpetrators were referred by Criminal Investigation and Prosecution Unit at Nazaha to the Criminal Court in Riyadh (Divisions of Financial and Administrative cases), which resulted in the issuance of a few court rulings, most prominent of which were as follow:
1st ruling: A notary was convicted of bribery for receiving 15,500,000 SR as a bribe in exchange for illegally issuing a deed to own a land, and he was sentenced to 7 years in prison and fined 700,000 SR. The briber was convicted of paying the bribe in exchange for obtaining the deed; he was sentenced to 5 years in prison and fined 500,000 SR. A citizen was also convicted of bribery (mediator) for participating in the delivery of the bribery amount and he was sentenced to 5 years in prison and fined 500,000 SR.
2nd ruling: The Secretary-General of one of the National Committees affiliated with the Ministry of Interior was convicted of embezzlement, forgery, use of forged documents and money laundering; he was sentenced to 9 years in prison and fined 1,020,000 SR. A businessman was convicted in conjunction with the former of embezzlement, forgery, use of forged documents and money laundering; he was sentenced to 7 years in prison and fined 500,000 SR, as well as returning 3,000,000 SR which is the total embezzled money, with a three-year travel ban that begins after the end of their imprisonment.
3rd ruling: A former Ambassador was convicted of bribery and abuse of office for illegally issuing Hajj and Umrah visas in exchange for receiving sums of money. He was sentenced to 6 years in prison and fined 300,000 SR.
4th ruling: An employee of the Motor Vehicle Periodic Inspection in one of the governorates was convicted of bribery for requesting 500 SR from a citizen in exchange for his vehicle to pass the inspection after it failed the first time. She was sentenced for 1 year and 6 months in prison and fined 20,000 SR.
5th ruling: A notary was convicted of bribery for receiving 1,330,000 SR in exchange for completing the procedures for issuing deeds. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison and fined 200,000 SR.
6th ruling: A member of the Public Prosecution was convicted of bribery and abuse of office for requesting 30,000 SR from a citizen in exchange for dismissing a pending case. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison and fined 30,000 SR.
7th ruling: A Brigadier General working in the Medical Department at the Ministry of Defense was convicted of forging documents; he was sentenced to 4 years in prison and fined 200,000 SR. A Colonel working as the Director of one of the Supply Departments in the same ministry was convicted of forgery; he was sentenced to 2 years in prison and fined 50,000 SR.
8th ruling: A clerk at the Public Prosecution was convicted of bribery for requesting 15,000 SR from a citizen in exchange for his efforts to dismiss a pending case at the Public Prosecution. He was sentenced to 1 year in prison and fined 10,000 SR.
9th ruling: The Head of a Municipality in one of the governorates was convicted of forgery and the use of a forged document. He was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison and fined 50,000 riyals.
10th ruling: A Customs Employee at one of the land ports was convicted of bribery and breaching his official duties by handing over to the second accused individual 54 cartons containing parcels of paan that had previously been seized by Customs at the same port. He was sentenced to 2 years in prison and fined 20,000 SR; a resident was convicted as well for asking the first accused to release the confiscated items, as a result he was sentenced to 1 year in prison and fined 10,000 SR.
Nazaha affirms on the continuation to pursue anyone who exploits the public office to achieve personal gain or harm public interest in any way, and that the accountability extends far beyond the retirement of individuals, as these types of crimes have no statute of limitations. The Authority will continue to apply the law, with zero-tolerance against corruption.