The Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority initiates a number of criminal cases and announces some judicial rulings

An official source in the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority stated that the Authority initiated number of criminal cases lately, and announces some judicial rulings regarding some criminal cases that the authority initiated.

Most prominent cases were as follow:

The first case: the involvement of (24) employees in the Ministry of Health, (15) employees of the General Authority of Meteorology and Environmental Protection, (14) municipality employees, (2) faculty members at a university, and (16) employees of a medical waste disposal company, for obtaining cash estimated in the millions of riyals, travel tickets, accommodation and car reservations for personal use, in addition to employing  first degree relatives with the company in exchange for not applying the standard regulations and overlooking the company's violations.

The second case: the arrest of a former appeal judge for obtaining, during his work, a luxury vehicle in exchange for the issuance of a ruling in an irregular manner, as well as the revocation of three rulings against one of the accused and consequently leading to his release, in addition it has been proven that the judge paid, in cash (which its source has not been identified), part of the value of an property.

The third case: In cooperation with the Ministry of Defense, a female citizen was arrested red handed upon paying (12,000) riyals in exchange for obtaining (45) injections of growth hormone (not intended for sale) from a hospital under the Ministry of Defense. The results of the investigation led to the arrest of a businessman (pharmacy owner) and an Arab expatriate for having paid sums of money in exchange for obtaining drugs not intended for sale. The investigations also led to the arrest, red handed, while he obtained (14000) riyals of a citizen from a businessman in exchange for (300) diabetes test strip boxes and (2) cartons of medical supplies (not intended for sale).

The fourth case: In cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, a non-commissioned officer who works in the Traffic Police in one of the regions was arrested for exploiting a citizen and obtaining from him an amount of (20,000) riyals as fees and submitting to him an incorrect government revenue deposit form of the amount.

The fifth case: In cooperation with the Saudi Central Bank, an employee at a bank was arrested for obtaining (129,800) riyals from citizens in exchange for filing funding requests with incorrect documents.

The sixth case: In cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior, an Arab expatriate was arrested for paying an amount of (50,000) riyals, in exchange for extending the deadline of the removal of the company's labor accommodation from the Civil Defense.

The seventh case: the arrest of an employee who works as a supervisor in one of the departments of the Personal Affairs Court in one of the regions upon receiving an amount of (15,000) riyals in exchange for setting a hearing session in the court.

Judicial Rulings

In accordance with the Royal Order No. (A / 277) dated 15/4/1441 AH, the Authority exercised its jurisdiction in many cases during the past year (2020), and as a result, the perpetrators were referred to the criminal court in Riyadh (administrative and financial chambers) by the Investigation and Criminal Prosecution Unit in the Authority, which concluded that they were proven guilty, and several peremptory final court rulings were issued against them, most prominent of which were as follow:

First ruling: an employee of the Ministry of Defense was convicted of embezzling public funds, sentenced to five years in prison and paying a fine after returning the embezzled money to the state treasury.

Second ruling: a retired officer from the Ministry of Defense was convicted of embezzling public funds, sentenced to three years in prison and paying a fine after returning the embezzled money to the state treasury.

Third ruling: a number of employees of the Ministry of Housing have been convicted of bribery in exchange for carrying out their job duties or from duties entrusted to them by law, money laundering, and sentencing them to prison which ranged from two to ten years and confiscate any money and real estate from those corruption crimes.

Fourth ruling: a number of residents are convicted in exchange for offering sums of money as a bribe (which were not accepted) from security officers and public employees to carry out their job duties or refrain from duties entrusted to them by law, and sentencing them to prison ranged from six months to five years.

Fifth ruling: a number of employees of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs (municipalities) have been convicted of administrative misuse, and the request and acceptance of bribes in exchange for carrying out their job duties or refraining from duties entrusted to them by law,  and the abuse of the public office, that resulted in sentencing them to prison ranging from one year to fifteen years as well as maximum fines stipulated by law.

Sixth ruling: a number of employees of the Ministry of Interior (military and civilians) were convicted for requesting and accepting bribes in exchange for carrying out their job duties or refrain from duties entrusted to them by law, as well as the abuse of the public office and administrative misuse, that resulted in sentencing them to prison ranging from one to five years.

Seventh ruling: a number of employees in the Ministry of Health (doctors and administrators) have been convicted of administrative misuse and bribery in exchange for carrying out their job duties or refrain from duties entrusted to them by law and abuse of the public office, that resulted in sentencing them to prison ranging from one to seven years.

The rulings also were issued against a number of state employees in a number of government sectors who have been proven to have side business while at work, in violation of the regulations that prohibit this.

The Authority affirms on the continuation to pursue anyone who exploits the public office to achieve personal gain or harm the public interest in any way possible, and that the accountability extends far beyond the retirement of any individual, as the crimes of financial and administrative corruption have no statute of limitations, and that it will apply what the law rules against the violators with zero tolerance.

It in addition notes that Article (16) of the Anti-Bribery Law exempts the briber or mediator from the original and ancillary penalties if he/she informs the authorities of the crime before its discovery.

The Authority also appreciates the efforts of government entities in fighting financial and administrative corruption and the development of policies and procedures that promote speedy achievements which shut any inlets for corruption, and it commends the cooperation of those entities and the media on their effort in promoting integrity, transparency and fighting corruption, and it would like as well to thank the citizens and residents in reporting through its available channels, including the toll free number (980) for any practices involving financial or administrative corruption that would undermine the efforts of the government to support and promote the path of comprehensive development in light of Vision 2030. It also extends its thanks and appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and HRH the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz - may Allah protect them - for the unlimited support to the Authority in order to exercise its jurisdiction and perform its tasks in fighting financial and administrative corruption in all its forms and manifestations.