The Saudi campaign against corruption includes the security sector |

Riyadh – The widespread campaign waged by the Saudi authorities for years on corruption does not exclude the security sector, which has infiltrated the phenomenon into its ranks, along with many state agencies and institutions.

The Saudi authorities announced that 6 military and police officers are among the 45 people arrested on charges of involvement in corruption cases.

The most senior military official to have been investigated on suspicions of corruption in Saudi Arabia during the recent period was Prince Fahd bin Turki bin Abdulaziz, who last September issued a royal order dismissing him from the position of commander of the joint forces of the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen and referring him to the investigation “regarding what was monitored. From suspicious financial dealings in the Ministry of Defense … and what the Control and Anti-Corruption Commission has raised about the existence of financial corruption in the ministry. The investigations into the same case also involved the Emir of Al-Jawf region, Abdulaziz bin Fahd bin Turki.

The authority said in a statement issued late, Thursday, that it had launched an investigation in 889 criminal and disciplinary cases, most notably “suspicions of corruption, utilitarianism and exploitation of the influence of a public office.”

She explained that 22 people were arrested, including 13 government employees, 4 businessmen, and 5 resident employees, and that the amounts and real estate properties belonging to the defendants were seized, worth about 602 million riyals (about $ 160 million).

In another case, the Commission confirmed the arrest of 4 army officers and 5 employees of a company contracting with the Ministry of Defense to implement some projects at a military base for “having included incorrect documents and facts to prove the completion of a project.”

The Control and Anti-Corruption Commission also announced the arrest of 14 people, including police officers, on charges of several charges, most notably “embezzlement, bribery and violating the law in commercial contracts.”

In March 2018, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz issued a royal order approving the creation of specialized departments for corruption cases in the Public Prosecution, “within the framework of combating corruption in all its forms and forms, and preserving public money.”

In December 2019, he issued a royal decree approving the organizational and structural arrangements related to combating financial and administrative corruption, which stated, “If the wealth of the public employee and those in his position after assuming the position an increase that is not commensurate with his income or resources based on evidence based on financial investigations of committing crimes of financial corruption “Or administrative, so the burden of proof is on him to verify that his money was acquired by his legitimate means, and in the event that he is unable to prove its legitimate source, the results of the financial investigations are referred to the investigation and criminal prosecution unit at the authority, to investigate the concerned employee and take the necessary action.”

During the past few years, the Kingdom has witnessed the largest and most daring campaign against corruption, as it did not exclude members of the ruling family, the wealthy and businessmen, many of whom were subjected to investigation, and settlements were concluded with some of them under which they returned large sums of money to the state while others were referred to the judiciary.