Saudi Public Security Director Fired, Referred for Investigation

By Staff, Agencies

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud has removed the director of the kingdom’s General Directorate of Public Security from his position over corruption charges.

First Lieutenant General Khaled Al-Harbi’s services have been terminated and he will be retired and referred for investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Commission, known as “Nazaha”, according to an official royal decree issued on Tuesday.

The decree, published by the state-run Saudi Press Agency [SPA], said Harbi had been “taking public funds for his personal benefit.”

He was also “accused of committing several crimes, including forgery, bribery and abuse of power, along with 18 private and public sector employees.”

Nazaha will complete the investigation procedures and take necessary legal measures against all those involved in the graft case, the report said.

Harbi was appointed as the director of Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Public Security in December 2018.

Saudi Arabia has detained 298 public officials in a new alleged anti-corruption push amid reports that the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman [MBS] is seeking to get rid of potential rivals to the Saudi throne.

Last month, Saudi Arabia announced the arrest of 207 employees across about a dozen government ministries on allegations of corruption, abuse of authority and fraud.

Nazaha announced the arrests on August 9. Those detained were not named and it was unclear when the arrests were made.

In April, Saudi Arabia announced that 176 people from across the country’s public sector had been detained on corruption charges.

Mohammed bin Salman, who became the Saudi crown prince in June 2017, has taken extreme measures to secure his power and to sideline all his potential political rivals within and outside the royal family.