The Saudi Royal Family’s Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) has taken legal action against 142 officials from multiple government agencies for corruption offenses such as bribery, forgery, and money laundering. 2,364 inspections were carried out by the authority last month, leading to 307 individuals being charged and 142 individuals being arrested. The arrested officials were employed by the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defense, National Guard, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs & Housing, Ministries of Education, Health, Environment, Water and Agriculture, Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority and Nazaha, who were all released on bail.
Nazaha stated they will continue to take action against anyone who misuses their public office for personal gain or harms the public in any way, and encourages the public to report any financial or administrative corruption. Since Mohammed bin Salman became Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader in 2017, the kingdom has arrested several activists, bloggers, intellectuals and other perceived political opponents, showing little tolerance for dissent, despite international condemnation of the crackdown.
In the largest purge in the kingdom’s history, Saudi royals, billionaires, and senior government officials were detained and tortured at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in a power move by bin Salman to remove potential political threats in November 2017. Up to 500 individuals were rounded up in the purge, which lasted until 2019, targeting cash and assets worth $800 billion. The move was viewed as a way for bin Salman to solidify his rule.
