Arab News, Sunday, Mar 05, 2023 | Sha'ban 13, 1444
Saudi anti-corruption authority arrests several citizens, Bangladeshi residents in criminal case
Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Arabia’s Oversight and Anti-Corruption
Authority announced on Saturday that it had initiated a criminal case.
The authority, also known as Nazaha, said that two
employees of the Ministry of Interior were arrested for allegedly forcing a
resident to sign a SR23 million ($6.1 million) financial commitment to a foreign
investor, in exchange for receiving SR60,000 from an investor.
“The names of those arrested are Sergeant of the
Court Security (Riyadh region police) Metab Saad Al-Ghnoum, Corporal of the
Special Missions Forces in Riyadh Hatem Mastoor Saad bin Tayeb, and Palestinian
investor Saleh Mohammed Saleh Al-Shalout,” the authority said in a statement.
“Upon further investigation, several residents
were also arrested,” including Bangladeshi residents Ashraf Uddin Aknad, Almgeer
Hussain Khan, Shfeeq Alislam Shah Jahan, it added.
The arrests also include Bangladeshi residents
Mohammed Nasser Uddin Noor — owner of a recruitment office in his home country,
Zaid Uosied Mafy, Abulklam Mohammed Rafeeq Alislam, Aziz Alhaq Muslim Uddin, and
visitor Alameen Khan Shahid Allah Khan, “for their involvement in illegal visa
trading and money smuggling outside the Kingdom.”
Nazaha said that they admitted to engaging in
illegal visa trading with the complicity of employees of the Saudi embassy in
Bangladesh, and after “searching their homes, SR20,180,000 was found in cash, as
well as gold ingots, and luxury vehicles, which turned out to be the proceeds of
illegally selling work visas in the Kingdom.”
The authority said that two more people were
arrested as the investigation unfolded, including Head of the Consular Section
at the Saudi Embassy in Bangladesh and former Deputy Ambassador Abdullah Falah
Mudhi Al-Shammari, and Deputy Head of the Consular Section at the embassy Khaled
Nasser Ayed Al-Qahtani.
They were arrested for their complicity with the
Bangladeshi national and for receiving SR54 million in installments while
working at the embassy in exchange for finalizing the issuances of work visas.
“They acknowledged receiving parts of the money
from the arrested residents inside Saudi Arabia and invested the rest outside
the Kingdom,” the authority said.
Nazaha said that it would continue to pursue
anyone who exploited public office to achieve personal gain or harm the public
interest in any way, and that accountability extended far beyond the retirement
of individuals as these types of crimes had no statute of limitations.