Saudi Arabia: Citizen nabbed over SR493 million fraud

Cairo: A Saudi man has been arrested for illegally obtaining SR493 million in bank financing in collusion with others, the kingdom’s anti-corruption watchdog has said.

The Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority said that in cooperation with the Presidency of State Security and the Saudi Central Bank, the citizen had been apprehended for having colluded with a local bank employee in defrauding bank systems and acquiring the financing totalling SR493 million.
The main suspect had applied for getting financing by submitting false title deeds and contracts with the purpose of investment by government agencies. The collaborator, i.e. the bank employee, accepted the application and sent an email to the competent departments at the bank that later offered the financing based on the submitted documents.

Having received the financing, the main suspect transferred SR1 million of the money to outside the kingdom, bought properties and registered them in the names of relatives with the aim of concealing them, said the watchdog known as Nazaha (Integrity) that gave the man’s name.
Authorities have also arrested three other suspects working at the General Directorate of Passports. They are accused of illegally facilitating the prime defendant’s entry and departure from the kingdom in exchange of money. Nazha said all the accused had admitted to the charges levelled against them and they were referred to the competent court.In recent years, hundreds of state employees and entrepreneurs have been arrested and interrogated in Saudi Arabia over dubious dealings and waste of public money.
In 2017, a Saudi anti-corruption swoop netted dozens of royals, state officials and business tycoons. They were briefly detained in a Riyadh hotel pending investigations over suspected graft.