Saudi Arabia arrests doctors who paid unauthorized staff to perform 18,953 surgeries

Saudi Arabia’s Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) have arrested two doctors who paid unauthorized personnel to perform 18,953 surgeries on their behalf and forged medical reports claiming they did the operations themselves, Nazaha said in a statement on Tuesday.

The two doctors had demanded that the hospital pay them more than $23 million for the surgeries, according to Nazaha.

The authority also stated that they initiated action over 17 other corruption cases, adding that legal procedures were underway against those accused.

Among one of the most notable cases was of a retired municipality employee who had been accepting bribes in return for approving land plans during his work in the City Planning Department, the statement said.

The man had over $21 million in his bank account that were unaccounted for before the authorities uncovered his crime and detained him.

A colonel in a police department, an employee working at one of the operating companies in the airport, a manager at a hotel, and a citizen were also arrested for allowing 89 residents to reside illegally and attempt to enter the holy sites for Hajj.

A Lieutenant Colonel with the police department was arrested for stealing $201,081, according to Nazaha.

In another case, a former employee in a sub-municipality was arrested for illegally awarding $2,911,384 to projects for a commercial entity he owns.

Nazaha said they would continue to pursue anyone who exploits the public office for their own personal gain or harm the public in any way.