Nearly 300 Saudi Arabian Officials Arrested for Corruption

According to Kommersant, citing the Saudi Gazette, the matter concerns the arrest of both nationals of the country and foreigners working in Saudi Arabia.

Officials of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Health, Justice, and Education were suspected of corruption. Along with them, representatives of the ministries of transport, housing, environment, water and agriculture, human resources and social development, for Hajj and Umrah (small pilgrimage) were arrested.

Separately, it is mentioned that for bribery, forgery and abuse of authority, those who were called to monitor the observance of the rule of law in the country - employees of the Anti-Corruption Department - were detained. All suspects are awaiting an investigation and a criminal court.

Similar cases in Saudi Arabia are initiated with enviable regularity. So, in March last year it became known about the arrest of 298 officials. Their detention was linked to an anti-corruption campaign. Along with officials from the ministries of health and education, officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Defense were under suspicion of the investigation. Among those arrested were high-ranking officials - eight officers, one of whom was in the rank of general. Among those arrested were even members of the royal family, including the brother of the monarch, Ahmad bin Abdelaziz Al Saud, along with his son, the nephew of the ruler Mohammed bin Naif, who was previously considered the heir to the throne, and his half-brother Nawaf.

In September last year, the country was rocked by another corruption scandal. Six senior generals, including two members of the royal family, were dismissed from the Saudi Arabian armed forces on suspicion of corruption and financial fraud. The decree on their resignation was signed by the King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdel Aziz Al Saud. At the same time, an investigation was launched against the dismissed. Observers note that the likely initiator of the high-profile resignations was not the 85-year-old king himself, but the 35-year-old crown prince - the heir to the throne, Mohammed bin Salman, who actually runs the country on behalf of his father.

As Izvestia notes, barely becoming the crown prince, Mohammed launched an active struggle against bribery. This campaign has apparently become part of the local Game of Thrones.

In 2017, the Crown Prince initiated an investigation against a whole cohort of high-ranking officials and businessmen, who were previously considered virtually inviolable. As part of an extensive anti-corruption campaign, about 200 people were arrested on suspicion of bribery and embezzlement of the state budget. Among them were former and current ministers, as well as representatives of the royal family. The charges against them were brought forward by the national anti-corruption committee, which was headed by Crown Prince Mohammed. By a strange coincidence, among those arrested were precisely those who opposed the appointment of Mohammed as crown prince, as well as persons close to them. Having got rid of the disaffected, Mohammed significantly strengthened his power and got rid of his rivals.