More than 200 prominent figures arrested in Saudi Arabia on corruption charges
Riyadh: The Saudi government has arrested more than 200 people in the last phase of a campaign to rid the country of corruption.
According to a statement issued by Saudi Arabia, 207 employees of dozens of ministries have been arrested under the anti-bribery campaign run by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Saudi Arabia's National Anti-Corruption Commission, also known as Nizaha, announced the arrests yesterday, but did not reveal the names of those arrested or when they were taken into custody.
The commission said 406 people were interrogated in the final phase of the crackdown, after which 207 Saudi nationals were arrested on charges of corruption, fraud and abuse of power. The commission said the arrested suspects, who belong to the Ministries of Defense, Interior, Health and Justice, and other departments, would be referred to the prosecution.
It may be recalled that Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman had launched a campaign in late 2017 to rid the country of corruption, which on the one hand strengthened his power and on the other hand increased government assets by 6 106 billion. In this campaign, Muhammad bin Salman targeted more than 300 princes. Among them were billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and Saudi construction tycoon Bakr bin Laden.
It is clear that the Saudi people have long complained of misappropriation of government and public funds and misuse of power.