Scores of the kingdom's economic and political elite were detained in 2017 at Riyadh's Ritz-Carlton hotel in a corruption crackdown that unsettled some foreign investors. The royal court said last year it was winding down that campaign after 15 months, but the authorities later said they would start going after graft by ordinary government employees. An anti-corruption body known as Nazaha tweeted on Sunday that it had arrested and would indict 298 people on crimes such as bribery, embezzlement, and abuse of power involving a total of $101 million. Two judges were also detained for receiving bribes, along with nine officials accused of corruption at Riyadh's AlMaarefa University which resulted in severe damage to a building and caused deaths and injuries, Nazaha said. The agency provided no names and few other details about the cases.

Source: Dhaka Tribune March 16, 2020 05:37 UTC