Saudi Gazette report

 

RIYADH — A Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) official has been accused of accepting bribes from a company to issue environmental licenses, Al-Watan reported.



The National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha) received reports on Monday of a PME official issuing environmental licenses for companies in exchange for hotel and travel expenses for him and his family.



A Nazaha source reported the commission has records of return tickets for the official, his wife and daughter from Jeddah to London paid for by a company.



He said: “We also found an email from the company to the official about an eight-night hotel reservation confirmation at a fancy hotel in London.



“The total expenses for the entire trip was SR19,000 covered fully by the company and included flight tickets, hotel reservations, transportation and other entertainment.”



He added the report was forwarded to the now former Nazaha head Mohammad Al-Sharif for further investigation.



He said: “There have been several corruption reports involving the presidency and this recent report is not the only or first one.



“There have been previous cases of embezzlement and blackmail. “The presidency allegedly delayed applications and service requests for up to eight months on purpose, forcing companies to donate money or cover certain expenses for the personal gain of its employees.”