Prince, top ex-officials and others get jail terms in Saudi as anti-graft authority announces several rulings

RIYADH — A prince, some former government officials and a number of citizens as well as residents have been convicted and handed prison terms for their involvement in corruption cases, an official source at the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) said on Thursday.

According to the source, a criminal court in Riyadh recently issued preliminary rulings in a number of cases referred to it by Nazaha’s investigation and criminal prosecution unit.

The source cited a number of prominent cases in which preliminary verdicts have been announced.

In one of the rulings, a prince, a student officer at a military college affiliated with the ministry of defense, and an Arab expatriate were convicted and handed jail terms.

The prince and officer were found guilty of using forged academic qualification certificates to get government jobs while the expatriate acted as a mediator who helped them get those forged certificates.

The prince was handed a two-year jail sentence a fine of SR100,000, the officer was given one and half year prison sentence and a fine of SR50,000 while the Arab expatriate was jailed for a year and needed to pay a fine of SR20,000.

In another verdict, a commander of one of the security sectors at the Ministry of Interior with the rank of Major General was convicted of forgery, administrative misuse, abuse of the influence of the public office to achieve personal gains and engage in private business. He was handed an 8-year jail term and a fine of SR160,000.

Another officer with the rank of a major working who works in the same sector was convicted of forgery and administrative misuse. He was ordered to serve a two-year prison term and pay a fine of SR100,000.

A non-commissioned officer was also convicted of forgery and punished with 3 years in prison and a fine of SR200,000.

An officer with the rank of brigadier General working in a different security sector affiliated with the Ministry of Interior, in association with the Major General in administrative misuse and engage in private business commerce and was given a two-year jail sentence and a fine of SR10,000.

A businessman who participated in administrative misuse and money laundering was also convicted and was imprisoned for 4 and half years and order to pay a fine of SR150,000. He also faces a ban from traveling outside the Kingdom for 3 years.

Another businessman was convicted of forging documents and was jailed for two years and slapped with a fine of SR200,000.

In the third verdict, a commander of one of the security sectors at the Ministry of Interior with the rank of a Major General was found guilty of forgery, abuse of the influence of the public office, squandering of public money and administrative misuse.

He was sentenced to 10-year imprisonment and a fine of SR200,000. Four officers who work in the same sector were also convicted of forgery and exploitation of the influence of the public office and participation in squandering of public money and administrative misuse. They were handed prison terms ranging from 3 to 6 years and a fine of SR50,000 each. In this case, a businessman was also given five-year jail terms for squandering public money.

In the fourth verdict, an officer, who works in one of the prisons affiliated with the Ministry of Interior, was convicted of smuggling cell phones into the prison, taking advantage of the nature of his work. He was handed a two-year jail term.

In the fifth verdict, two employees of a real estate appraisal company were convicted of bribery. They breached their job duties by valuating a property belonging to their brother. The employees were imprisoned for 2 years and slapped with a fine of SR20,000, while their brother was sentenced to a 1-year jail term and a fine of SR30,000.

In the sixth verdict, a number of employees of a security guard company were convicted of bribery and taking advantage of government support SANED provided due to the coronavirus pandemic illegally. They were handed prison terms ranging from 1 to 4 years and fines amounting to SR75,000.

In the seventh verdict, an employee was convicted of the misuse of his position for establishing illegal relationships. He was given a five-year jail sentence.