Saudi Arabia removes military commander, regional deputy prince over corruption

Senior royal and military officials have been relieved of their duties and placed under investigation for corruption, the Saudi Press Agency reported late Monday.

Saudi Arabia’s Commander of the Joint Forces and the deputy prince of Al-Jouf region were two of the most senior officials sacked in a royal decree.

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Commander of the Joint Forces Fahad bin Turki bin Abdulaziz and Deputy Prince of Al-Jouf region, Abdulaziz bin Fahad bin Turki bin Abdulaziz were both relieved of their duties and referred to investigators over acts of corruption linked to the Ministry of Defense.

Several other officers and civilian employees at the Ministry of Defense have been referred to the judiciary for investigations over corruption as well, according to the royal decree.

The move is the latest in a string of decisions made to crack down on corruption across state institutions.

On Aug. 21, a number of government officials working with tourism projects including the historical northwestern site al-Ula, the Red Sea mega projects and the Souda Development Company were sacked on suspicion of corruption

In February 2019, Saudi Arabia launched a new office to monitor state spending, saying it would help keep up the fight against corruption after the closing of a 15-month crackdown.

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