Saudi Arabia: Several officials get jail terms for graft
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has stepped up a crackdown on white-collar corruption, arresting dozens of state employees.
Varying custodial sentences have recently been handed down to several defendants, including senior officials, in different graft cases in Saudi Arabia, the country’s state anti-corruption watchdog has disclosed.
The Saudi Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority had investigated several cases and referred defendants to a court in Riyadh that has passed preliminary verdicts, an official source at the watchdog said.
The court sentenced an ex-ambassador to six years in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of SR300,000 after convicting him of bribery and job misuse by illegally issuing Hajj (pilgrimage) and Umrah visas in return for money.
In another case, a member of prosecution was convicted of bribery and job misuse by requesting SR30,000 from a Saudi citizen in return for for closing a case. The court sentenced him to three years in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of SR30,000.
Likewise, an officer with the rank of a brigadier at the Defence Ministry was convicted of forging official documents and was handed down four years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of SR200,000.
In another case, the head of a committee at the Interior Ministry was found guilty of embezzlement, forgery and money laundering. The court sentenced him to nine years in jail and ordered him to pay SR1.02 million.
A businessman was convicted of complicity in the same case and was given seven years in prison and a fine of SR500,000. Both are banned from travel outside the country for three years each after serving their terms.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has stepped up a crackdown on white-collar corruption, arresting dozens of state employees.
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