New law enhances Nazaha role in combating corruption: President

Mazin Al-Kahmous, President of Nazaha

The Anti-Corruption and Oversight Authority (Nazaha) Law will enhance the role of the authority in exercising its powers with regard to combating financial and administrative corruption in all its forms, President of Nazaha Mazin Al-Kahmous said.

It will contribute to preserving public funds and the nation’s capabilities and gains, he added.

The new law comes as an embodiment of the leadership’s continued support in developing the legislative law for law enforcement agencies, to ensure that corrupt practices are prosecuted and perpetrators held accountable in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements.

It also paves ways to ensure that funds and their proceeds resulting from committing these crimes are recovered to the state’s public treasury, he added.

The law, which is comprised of 24 articles, includes many statutory provisions, in which the types of corruption crimes that the authority is responsible for are identified. These include bribery, assault on public funds, abuse of power, and other crime stipulated as a corruption.

It also specifies the authority’s powers in administrative oversight, investigation and administrative prosecution, protecting integrity, promoting transparency and international cooperation with regional and international bodies and organizations in the Authority’s field of work, according to the President.

Settling some such crimes will reduce their economic and social impact and achieve the public interest by recovering the looted funds to the state’s public treasury.

The Saudi Cabinet, Chaired by King Salman, approved on July 23 the Anti-Corruption and Oversight Authority (Nazaha) Law, Argaam earlier reported.