JEDDAH — A notary public and four others before the Administrative Court in Jeddah Tuesday to face corruption charges. The defendants were accused of forging title deeds for a plot of land measuring more than 4.6 sq. meters in Dhahban. The land has an estimated market value of SR5 billion, according to judicial sources. The public prosecutor charged the notary public with receiving a bribe of SR10 million to transfer the ownership of the plot to a businessman, who is the third defendant. Investigations showed that notary public used a fake title deed to transfer the ownership. The investigations also revealed that the fourth defendant had impersonated the owner of the land. The prosecutor alleged that the notary public who is the prime suspect in the case fabricated the title deed with the help of the second and third suspects and the intercession of the fourth and fifth suspects.
A committee tasked with investigating the Jeddah flood disasters had uncovered the land scam.
