The Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) has initiated 15 criminal cases in the recent period, involving employees and officials from several government and private entities, confirming that legal procedures are being completed against the accused.

The most prominent cases included a businessman offering 1.6 million riyals to a customs officer in exchange for facilitating the entry of two containers loaded with tobacco through Jeddah Islamic Port, and avoiding payment of customs fees amounting to 14 million riyals.

The authority arrested a Ministry of Health employee for receiving 900,000 riyals in exchange for awarding projects in an irregular manner, and a resident working on a project under the Ministry of Energy for receiving 200,000 riyals in exchange for not issuing fines worth 1.5 million riyals.

An expert in a dispute pending before the Commercial Court was also caught while receiving 50,000 riyals out of an agreed 100,000 riyals, in exchange for preparing a technical report in favor of one party.

The cases included:

• Arrest of a former passport officer for obtaining 60,500 riyals in exchange for processing expatriate transactions in an irregular manner.

• Apprehension of an employee at the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority while receiving 55,000 riyals to modify the status of incoming goods.

• Arrest of two employees in one municipality for obtaining 40,000 riyals in exchange for processing irregular transactions.

• Apprehension of an employee in one secretariat while receiving 10,000 riyals out of 50,000 to complete a transaction in an irregular manner.

• Arrest of an employee at the Ministry of Human Resources while receiving 10,000 riyals in exchange for not issuing violations against a commercial entity.

• Arrest of an employee at the ministry and a citizen in a case of an incorrect letter to cancel a report of absence for a resident in exchange for 2,500 riyals.

• Arrest of four employees in a municipality for hiring their relatives and disbursing salaries to residents and benefiting from them in an irregular manner.

• Apprehension of a resident who issued a medical examination report for an expatriate without his presence and uploaded it via the 'Balady' platform in exchange for a sum of money.

• Arrest of a warehouse keeper at the Ministry of Islamic Affairs for seizing computers.

• Apprehension of an employee at a driving school for facilitating the issuance of a license for a resident without his presence.

• Arrest of the manager of a periodic inspection station and an employee for receiving amounts in exchange for passing vehicle inspections in an irregular manner.

Nazaha affirmed its continued monitoring and arrest of those who encroach on public funds and exploit their positions, stressing that financial and administrative corruption crimes are not subject to statute of limitations.