Jakarta –
The authority Arab Saudi has arrested dozens of officials on suspicion of new corruption cases.
Reported from the news agency ReutersMonday (1/8/2022), the English daily newspaper, Saudi Gazette, citing the Anti-Corruption and Oversight Authority (Nazaha), reported that 78 people were arrested on charges of bribery, counterfeiting and money laundering.
The report added that the defendants were employed in the ministries of defence, interior, health, justice, education, urban and rural affairs and housing.
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The Saudi Gazette added that the arrests were made after Nazaha authorities conducted 3,207 inspections. Another 116 officials were also investigated for several crimes.
Since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman be the de facto leader Arab Saudi by 2017, the kingdom had arrested dozens of activists, bloggers, intellectuals and others deemed political opponents.
In what is seen as the biggest purge in the kingdom’s history, Saudi royalty, billionaires and senior government officials were arrested in November 2017 and held at the Ritz-Carlton hotel. As many as 500 people were arrested in the purge, which continued into 2019. According to The Wall Street Journal, the Saudi government targeted up to $800 billion in cash and assets in the arrest operation.
Most were later released after reaching financial settlements with an undisclosed number of authorities.
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