Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — A Saudi court sentenced two expatriates to 15 years each in prison after their conviction of fraud involving SR22 million, according to the Public Prosecution. The court also imposed SR1 million fine on one of the convicts while the second one was fined with SR500000. The convicts will be deported after serving their jail terms and payment of fines. The court confiscated the money earned by the convicts through their crimes, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The Financial Fraud wing under the Public Prosecution has begun its investigations with two expatriates involved in forming a financial fraud gang that targeted victims inside and outside the Kingdom. It was revealed in investigations that the two defendants established call centers in several regions of the Kingdom. They used these centers to make fraudulent calls by claiming that they were representatives of government agencies.

The perpetrators were able to carry out 177 financial fraud operations in different regions of the Kingdom, and thus managed to collect illegal gains exceeding SR22 million. Upon searching the residence of the two defendants, tablets and external SIM cards were found, in addition to two advanced devices for passing fraudulent calls and a control device that completely manages the operations.

The Public Prosecution took measures to track down the financial amounts involved in the crime to seize them as a precaution and return them to their owners. The Public Prosecution arrested the two defendants and referred them to the competent court, which pronounced the judgment after completing the trial procedures.

The Public Prosecution reiterated its full commitment to initiating severe criminal cases against anyone who dares to commit such crimes, saying that confronting financial fraud in all its forms will remain one of its priorities in protecting the money of citizens and expatriates.