At least 241 people, including employees of several ministries, have been arrested for their alleged involvement in corruption, Saudi Arabia’s anti-graft authority said on Sunday.
In a statement, the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha), said the accused included employees from the ministries of interior, health, municipal and rural affairs and housing, education, and human resources and social development, customs and the postal story.Charges have been framed against the suspects, which include bribery, abuse of power and forgery. They were arrested during as many as 263 inspection raids carried out by the Nazaha teams during the last month.
The arrest of the suspects, both citizens and expatriates, was made after investigating the alleged role of 757 people, Nazaha said, adding that the legal procedures are being completed prior to referring them to courts.
In the past few years, authorities have been cracking down on corruption in Saudi Arabia – the largest economy in the Arab world.
Last January, 32 people were arrested following an investigation into the illegal transfer of $3.1bn out of the country.
According to Nazaha, bank employees a the Saudi Central Bank were reportedly taking bribes from an organised group of expats and businessmen to accept deposits from unknown sources and then transfer the money out of the country.Two Saudi citizens have been sentenced to 28 years in jail and fined up to $3.47 million after an investigation revealed an organized crime gang laundering money overseas.
An official source in the Public Prosecution stated that the Financial Investigation Unit launched an investigation into a man and a woman - both Saudi - who opened commercial records and bank accounts before handing them over to expatriates for a monthly fee.
The duo allowed the expats to invest in their commercial unit, use their bank accounts, deposit money they obtained illegally, and transfer it abroad.
Authorities said that the preliminary ruling of the court included sentencing the gang members to 28 years in prison, a fine of $3.47 million, confiscating funds transferred abroad — which exceeded $182 million — and deporting the foreign nationals after the completion of their prison sentences. The Public Prosecutor said it is preparing to retrieve the smuggled money after the final ruling.