The Saudi Arabian Oversight and Anti-corruption Authority (Nazaha) on Sunday announced the arrest of Amr bin Saleh Abdulrahman Al Madani, the CEO of the Royal Commission for Al Ula, on charges of money laundering and abuse of authority.
Al Madani is accused of “illegally obtaining contracts” amounting to 206,6 million Saudi riyals ($55.1 million) from a government institute for a company he owns. Furthermore, he is charged with receiving an additional 1,298 million Saudi riyals ($347,000) after acquiring projects from the Royal Commission for Al Ula. Nazaha claims that Al Madani obtained personal benefits from contracting companies with the Commission and profits from those projects through a relative.
This arrest is part of the campaign against corruption declared by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in September 2023. This initiative is handled by Nazaha with a goal to enhance transparency within government institutions as part of the kingdom’s Vision 2030, which promises to bring forth comprehensive transparency and accountability reforms.
However, this anti-corruption drive has also generated concerns, primarily due to the Saudi government’s history of heavy-handed crackdown on online expression. Case in point is the August 2023 arrest, and subsequent death sentence, of Mohammad Al Ghamedi for his social media posts speaking against corruption.
At the beginning of 2024, Nazaha announced the arrest of 141 people in December 2023 including Al Madani, involving crimes of bribery, abuse of authority, money laundering, and forgery. Both Al Madani and the other detainees currently await trial, with legal procedures in progress according to the kingdom’s laws and regulations.