Saudi Arabia Detains 136 People in Latest Anti-Corruption Drive
Saudi authorities detained 136 people – both citizens and expatriates in Saudi Arabia – for their alleged involvement in bribery, abuse of power, and forgery, the country’s anti-graft watchdog said on Sunday.
The Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) said in
a statement that many of the suspects were employees at various ministries as
well as members of the National Guard and the country’s Tax & Customs
Authority.
Nazaha teams conducted last month nearly 900 raids, during
which they detained the suspects and investigated 562 people in both criminal
and administrative cases, according to the statement.
The authority added that legal procedures are being
completed in preparation for their referral to court.
This is just the latest round of large anti-corruption arrests
in the kingdom, as Nazaha has been ramping up crackdowns on corruption, fraud
and bribery over the past year.
“Nazaha is standing up against financial and administrative
corruption,” Majed Garoub, a Saudi lawyer, told Arab News back in April. “The
crackdown on corruption is a reality and we’re witnessing its success every
time we hear the good news of these arrests.”
In January, 32 people were arrested following an
investigation into the illegal transfer of US$3.1 billion out of the country,
according to Al Jazeera. In March, at least 241 people – many of them
government employees – were also arrested on corruption charges.
The mass arrests, however, have raised questions and sparked
concern from human rights organizations, who argue fighting against corruption
is not an excuse for a lack of due process.
“Saudi authorities should immediately reveal the legal and
evidentiary basis for each person’s detention and make certain that each person
detained can exercise their due process rights,” Human Rights Watch said in a
statement earlier this year.
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