Cases of corruption and administrative and financial irregularities are slowly emerging in the investigations conducted against around 50 high-profile people detained in Saudi Arabia on suspicion of graft.
As a part of a massive anti-graft drive, Saudi authorities arrested princes, former ministers and businessmen.
A former minister gave astronomical salaries to some of the department heads that amounted to SR 150,000 in addition to allowances. Relatives were hired as consultants for monthly salaries ranging between SR 50,000 and SR 90,000.
The ex-minister has also signed a contract with a private media company to run the ministry’s social media account, post awareness content and interact online with users.
The former minister also faces suspicions he had squandered SR10.3 million on contracts with a private company to run an advertising campaign for seven weeks and SR8.9 million on training staff. The programmes were cancelled for their poor quality and modest output.
The minister who replaced him cancelled and suspended 38 of the 148 contracts by the ministry amid suspicions of financial irregularities.
Saudi Arabia has reaffirmed its commitment to the rights of national and multinational companies operating in the kingdom and abroad, including those wholly or partly owned by individuals under investigation.
Chairing a meeting of the Council for Economic Affairs and Development, Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman instructed the concerned ministers to ensure that the companies are not disrupted while investigations into corruption cases were under way.
The Council said that the government would ensure the fair treatment of the arrested individuals by the justice system.
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