Corruption watchdog Nazaha has new powers that include the legal ability to enter into settlement talks in select cases as an alternative to referring those cases to the criminal courts. Cabinet confirmed the new powers at its weekly meeting yesterday, state news agency SPA reported.

The rules give the Overnight and Anti-Corruption Authority (better known as Nazaha) power to make financial settlements, the authority said. The new rules also specify the types of cases over which Nazaha has clear jurisdiction, including cases of alleged bribery, misappropriation of public funds, abuse of power, and others.

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Why this matters now: The Kingdom has been sending clear messages that graft won’t be tolerated as the government spends bns of SAR on economic growth and diversification projects. It has stepped up news coverage of arrests and regulatory enforcement and taken high-profile heads, including the arrest of then-Royal Commission for AlUla chief Amr AlMadani in January. Nazaha recently arrested 155 civil servants working in a number of ministries on corruption charges, accusing them of bribery, abuse of power, forgery, and money laundry.

Also from yesterday’s cabinet meeting, which King Salman chaired in Jeddah, his first in-person meeting since he led a meeting remotely in May after recovering from a brief illness:

  • Mandating the industry and mineral resources minister to negotiate and sign an MoU with Mozambique on mineral resources;
  • Mandating the finance minister to discuss and sign separate MoUs with Kuwait and Gambia on the avoidance of double taxation;
  • Agreements on the hiring of domestic workers from Gambia and Tanzania.
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