JEDDAH: Thirty-two people have been arrested in Saudi Arabia as part of a corruption investigation into the illegal transfer of SR11.6 billion ($3.1 billion) out of the Kingdom.
Saudi Arabia’s Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) is taking legal action against those involved.
An official source at Nazaha said that the authority, with the cooperation of the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), received information that bank employees received bribes from an organized gang of expats and businessmen to accept cash deposits from unknown sources and then transfer the money out of the Kingdom.
“After conducting field investigations, bank account analysis of the involved commercial entities, and linking them to the customs imports, we found that the deposited cash to the bank accounts of these entities was more than SR11.6 billion and was all transferred abroad,” the source said.
The source added that five expats were arrested while on their way to a bank to deposit more than SR9.8 million in cash.
“Twelve bank employees, seven businessmen, five Saudis, two expats, and a non-commissioned police officer were also nabbed for being involved in bribery, forgery and illegally exploiting their job powers for an illicit financial gain, commercial concealment and money laundering,” the Nazaha source said.
The source said that one businessman set up a number of spurious commercial entities under his own name, and under the names of his wife and son.
According to Nazaha, the businessman opened bank accounts and allowed access to some expats, who used the accounts in exchange for monthly payments. The expats deposited cash from unknown sources and, with the collusion of bank employees, transferred the money abroad.
Bank employees received money and gifts from the expats in exchange for their help, the source said.
The businessman also paid SR300,000 to a noncommissioned police officer, the source said, in exchange for stalling charges against him over suspicious financial dealings that were already under investigation by the police.
“He also paid SR4 million to Saudi mediators for their efforts to stall the same case in the Public Prosecution,” said the source, adding that five other businessmen and a bank branch manager were also detained over similar indictments.
According to the source, a businessman recruited one of the arrested expats and enabled him to work freely inside the Kingdom in exchange for monthly payments.
Talat Zaki Hafiz, founder and member of the Saudi Financial Association, told Arab News: “Since 2017, Saudi Arabia has decided to crack down on corruption and corrupt individuals regardless of who they are or their position in both the government and private sectors.”
He said that a committee set up as part of the crackdown and headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has succeeded in returning more than SR100 billion back to the government as well as fixed assets and other money illegally earned by individuals accused of misconduct.
Hafiz believes this “excellent move” by the government will guarantee justice in the Saudi financial system.
“This will also ensure fair dealings in all our government transactions.”
He explained the term “unknown sources” as money that cannot be traced or confirmed by legal and legitimate sources.
Hafiz said that the corrupt individuals pursued different channels to disguise the original source of the “dirty money.”
“They may create artificial businesses, buy fixed assets and financial securities,” he said.
According to Hafiz, SAMA has granted any bank operating in Saudi Arabia the ability to seize provisions when it suspects fraud or wrongdoing.
Saudi legal consultant Dr. Majed Garoub told Arab News that international treaties and agreements allow countries to trace and confiscate money that has been illegally earned or smuggled outside countries.
“There are international cooperation departments in the Ministry of Interior and Public Prosecution that demand such money. This happens in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after, of course, they (prove) the money has been embezzled or taken illegally,” said Garoub.
This can happen only after a court ruling, he added.
Large amounts of money that have been transferred to bank accounts outside the Kingdom could be regained, said Garoub, but only after long and relatively complicated legal and judicial procedures.
“With their efficiency, the Saudi authorities will be able to get the money back,” he said.
Garoub said that the entire process, including the time needed to regain the funds, depends on the country where the money was sent.
“Different countries have different legal regulations and rules,” he said.
Saudi Arabia arrests 32 in $3bn corruption case
https://arab.news/45p7z
Saudi Arabia arrests 32 in $3bn corruption case
- Five people were arrested while trying to deposit SR9.8 million at a bank
- Bank staff among those held over illegal cash transfers, investigators say
Riyadh takes shape at Tuwaiq Sculpture Symposium 2026
RIYADH: This season, one of Riyadh’s busiest streets has taken on an unexpected role.
Under the theme “Traces of What Will Be,”sculptors are carving granite and shaping reclaimed metal at the seventh Tuwaiq Sculpture Symposium, running from Jan. 10 to Feb. 22.
The symposium is unfolding along Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Road, known locally as Al‑Tahlia, a name that translates to desalination. The choice of location is deliberate.
The area is historically linked to Riyadh’s early desalination infrastructure, a turning point that helped to shift the city from water scarcity toward long‑term urban growth.
Twenty‑five artists from 18 countries are participating in this year’s event, producing large‑scale works in an open‑air setting embedded within the city.
The site serves as both workplace and eventual exhibition space, with sculptures remaining in progress throughout the symposium’s duration.
In her opening remarks, Sarah Al-Ruwayti, director of the Tuwaiq Sculpture Symposium, said that this year new materials had been introduced, including recycled iron, reflecting a focus on sustainability and renewal.
She added that the live-sculpting format allowed visitors to witness the transformation of raw stone and metal into finished artworks.
Working primarily with local stone and reclaimed metal, the participating artists are responding to both the material and the place.
For Saudi sculptor Wafaa Al‑Qunaibet, that relationship is central to her work, which draws on the physical and symbolic journey of water.
“My work … presents the connection from the salted water to sweet water,” Al‑Qunaibet told Arab News.
Using five pieces of granite and two bronze elements, she explained that the bronze components represented pipes, structures that carry saline water and allow it to be transformed into something usable.
The sculpture reflected movement through resistance, using stone to convey the difficulty of that transition, and water as a force that enables life to continue.
“I throw the stone through the difficult to show how life is easy with the water,” she said, pointing to water’s role in sustaining trees, environments and daily life.
Formally, the work relies on circular elements, a choice Al‑Qunaibet described as both technically demanding and socially resonant.
“The circle usually engages the people, engages the culture,” she said. Repeated circular forms extend through the work, linking together into a long, pipe‑like structure that reinforces the idea of connection.
Sculpting on site also shaped the scale of the piece. The space and materials provided during the symposium allowed Al‑Qunaibet to expand the work beyond her initial plans.
The openness of the site pushed the sculpture toward a six‑part configuration rather than a smaller arrangement.
Working across stone, steel, bronze and cement, American sculptor Carole Turner brings a public‑art perspective to the symposium, responding to the site’s historical and symbolic ties to desalination.
“My work is actually called New Future,” Turner told Arab News. “As the groundwater comes up, it meets at the top, where the desalination would take place, and fresh water comes down the other side.”
Her sculpture engages directly with the symposium’s theme by addressing systems that often go unseen. “Desalination does not leave a trace,” she said. “But it affects the future.”
Turner has been sculpting for more than two decades, though she describes making objects as something she has done since childhood. Over time, she transitioned into sculpture as a full‑time practice, drawn to its ability to communicate across age and background.
Public interaction remains central to her approach. “Curiosity is always something that makes you curious, and you want to explore it,” she said. Turner added that this sense of discovery is especially important for children encountering art in public spaces.
Saudi sculptor Mohammed Al‑Thagafi’s work for this year’s symposium reflects ideas of coexistence within Riyadh’s evolving urban landscape, focusing on the relationships between long‑standing traditions and a rapidly changing society.
The sculpture is composed of seven elements made from granite and stainless steel.
“Granite is a national material we are proud of. It represents authenticity, the foundation, and the roots of Saudi society,” Al‑Thagafi told Arab News.
“It talks about the openness happening in society, with other communities and other cultures.”
That dialogue between materials mirrors broader social shifts shaping the capital, particularly in how public space is shared and experienced.
Because the sculpture will be installed in parks and public squares, Al‑Thagafi emphasized the importance of creating multi‑part works that invite engagement.
Encountering art in everyday environments, he said, encouraged people to question meaning, placement, simplicity and abstraction, helping to build visual‑arts awareness across society.
For Al‑Thagafi, this year marked his fifth appearance at the symposium. “I have produced more than 2,600 sculptures, and here in Riyadh alone, I have more than 30 field works.”
Because the works are still underway, visitors can also view a small on‑site gallery displaying scaled models of the final sculptures.
These miniature models offer insight into each artist’s planning process, revealing how monumental forms are conceived before being executed at full scale.
As the symposium moves toward its conclusion, the completed sculptures will remain on site, allowing the public to encounter them in the environment that shaped their creation.
