Saudi Arabia provides protection to whistle-blowers reported financial, administrative corruption

Riyadh, May 7: Saudi Arabia on Sunday vowed to provide protection for employees (whistle-blowers) who reported financial and administrative corruption.

 

Notably, the Saudi Arabia authorities arrested 11 princes, 4 ministers and a number of former government ministers as it was re-examining the 2009 Jeddah floods and investigating the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus, which emerged in Saudi Arabia in 2012.

Saudi Arabian King Abdul Aziz on Sunday issued an order to provide protection to whistle-blowers who reported financial and administrative corruption. The move comes amid reports of some employees being mistreated after they opened corruption cases.

Chairman of the Saudi National Anti-Corruption Commission, Khalid Al Muhaisen in a statement said that the royal order stipulated providing adequate protection to employees who reported financial and/or administrative irregularities. “The employees are not to be threatened regarding job security, benefits or rights,” he added.

Al Muhaisen also stated that the order reiterated that King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman “are keen on fighting corruption and protecting the interests of citizens and residents who fulfil their duties and report corruption.” “They are dedicated to ensuring that these citizens not be subjected to any harm for reporting. This is fully in line with Vision 2030, which puts transparency, integrity and fighting corruption among its main pillars,” he concluded.

On November 4 last year, Saudi Arabia launched intensified crackdown on corruption and arrested 11 princes, 4 ministers and a number of former government ministers. However, the authorities later freed those individuals who agreed to pay settlement amount. The authorities of Saudi Arabia have so far recovered more than $107 billion from kingdom's most prominent businessmen and government officials who were arrested in a crackdown into alleged corruption.