Saudi Oger's debts exceed $10.89bln, says court

JEDDAH — The Executive Court in Riyadh has estimated the accumulated debts of now-liquidated construction giant Saudi Oger to be at more than SR40 billion.

The amount includes SR22 billion owed to suppliers and SR2.6 billion owed to employees in outstanding dues such as delayed salaries and allowances, end-of-service awards and other entitlements, according to court sources.

They said the amount of money kept in the court's custody only amounted to SR83.7 million while the company's bank account only had a balance of SR171,000.

According to the sources, more than 6,000 people had approached the court demanding it to intervene to get their dues from the company paid, in addition to a number of banks and private companies.

The authorities were keen to resolve the financial fallout from Saudi Oger's collapse after it was crippled by mismanagement and corruption, leaving thousands of workers and banks out of pocket.

The sources said as the creditors could not agree to an amicable settlement, the court appointed a liquidator to wind up operations of the company.

The settlement proposed by the court was to pay each creditor 1 percent of his or her outstanding dues.

The sources said the company also owed the government SR38 billion.