Saudi sets rules for financial settlement with persons involved in corruption crimes

Saudi Arabia published six rules for reaching financial settlements with natural or legal persons that have committed corruption crimes, according to the Official Gazette.

Under the first rule, the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) is responsible for concluding settlement agreements with individuals or entities that voluntarily submit a request, provided that the corruption crime was committed before Nov. 4, 2017, and had not been previously discovered.

The settlement agreement must be made according to certain criteria. The individual or entity shall abide by returning or collecting the funds involved in the crime—or the equivalent value—along with any generated proceeds, if any.

An annual fee of 5% should be paid from the involved funds, calculated from the time the crime was committed until full repayment under the settlement agreement.

All collected funds under these settlements will be deposited into the state’s public treasury.

Those who submit a settlement request within one year from the date of rules publication and fulfill their obligations under the agreement will be exempted from paying the 5% fee.

Moreover, these rules do not affect any previously concluded settlement agreements regarding corruption crimes. No party may contest such agreements, and if all terms of a settlement are fulfilled, a public criminal case shall be closed.

These rules take effect from the date of issuance.