Saudi Arabia Consolidates Fight against Corruption with New Measures

Saudi Arabia’s Umm al-Qura newspaper revealed on Friday the details of the regulations approved by cabinet on July 23 related to the Control and Anti-Corruption Authority’s jurisdiction in investigating illegal enrichment.

The new regulations will go into effect 90 days after their official publication.

The regulations define corruption crimes as bribery, abuse of authority and public funds and any related crimes.

The Authority enjoys financial and administrative independence. It works objectively away from the influence of any party.

It is charged with monitoring public agencies, protecting integrity, bolstering transparency and combating corruption.

The Authority is tasked with uncovering administrative violations and crimes of corruption. It receives complaints related to these crimes and investigates their validity. It can also launch investigations and file lawsuits before relevant courts.

It also follows up on the return of illegally acquired funds and the revenues generated from them.

The Authority has the power to review work methods and procedures to protect integrity and reinforce transparency. It can specify points of weakness that could lead to violations and crimes of corruption and propose means to develop and modernize procedures and mechanisms to fortify against the crimes.

The Authority has the power to demand records, documents, information and data from concerned parties to probe corruption claims.