Saudi Arabia charges 12 in coronavirus 'health status' scam

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RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nahaza) said on Thursday it has instigated the arrest of 12 citizens and expatriates involved in an illegal scheme of tampering with people’s health status in exchange for money.

In a series of tweets, the authority said two of those arrested were government employees, seven were facilitators, two were beneficiaries and one acted both as facilitator and beneficiary.

Nazaha identified the two employees as Akram Aqal Aoun Al-Qahtani and Nayef Muhammed Musaed Al-Shehri, both of the Eastern Province Health Affairs office.

The two were accused of obtaining money from citizens and residents in exchange for modifying their health status, from “infected” or “not immune” to COVID-19 to “immune by first dose” or “immune.”

Nazaha said three citizens — Muhammed Ahmed Ali Al-Ribhi, Aoun Suleiman Aoun Al-Qahtani and Bandar Saghir Ahmed Al-Shehri — had advertised on social media and received money from citizens and residents who wanted to modify their health status.

Four expatriates — Yemeni nationals Yassin Mahfouz Al-Jundi, Moatmin Shayef Hizam Shuja and Riyadh Ali Ghaleb Saif, and Syrian national Ahmed Faraj Mahmoud — were also charged with facilitating similar fraudulent transactions.

Another Saudi citizen — Nayef Theeb Manea Al-Qahtani — was found to have used his bank accounts to receive bribe money and to have paid money to one of the accused to modify his health status.

Two citizens — Yhaya Ahmed Essa Hakami and Yahya Ahmed Ibrahim Anab — were charged with paying money to some of the accused to have their health status modified.

“Legal procedures are underway to refer the accused to the court for their involvement in crimes of bribery, forgery and money laundering,” Nazaha said in its statement.

“Given that these actions and violations have a very negative impact on the efforts made by the government in combating this pandemic, the Authority is proceeding with applying what the law rules against the violators,” Nazaha added.

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