Okaz/Saudi Gazette RIYADH — The National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha) will soon bring a law to guarantee the protection of whistleblowers and witnesses in graft cases. Abdulrahman Al-Ajlan, spokesperson of Nazaha, said law has drafted and the announcement about its issuance is expected in the near future. Speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette, he said the commission has made intervention to protect some whistleblowers after they were subject to harassment. "Nazaha will guarantee their protection in addition to providing them remuneration in accordance with the significance of reporting," he said. Al-Ajlan said Nazaha is now verifying the merit of 1,447 complaints that were reported to it during 2018. The commission will hand over these complaints to relevant investigation authorities after the completion of the verification. He emphasized that all the actions taken by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to fight corruption and the royal directives confirm that there is no immunity for anyone in the fight against corruption. Al-Ajlan said all complaints that reach the commission will be examined within a period not exceeding two weeks. "The increase in the number of communications in 2018 by about 50 percent is a positive indicator and that reflects the increased confidence of the public in the measures taken by the leadership in the fight against corruption," he added. In 2018, the number of complaints the commission received rose to 15,591 from 10,402 from what was reported in 2017 and 6,482 in 2016. Financial and administrative corruption cases topped the list of complaints with 74.3 percent of registered cases. The reports about misuse of power accounted for 28.9 percent of cases. The cases of embezzlement and wastage of public money were 17.6 percent. Nepotism accounted for 15.9 percent of the complaints. Nazaha completed processing of 59 percent of complaints and referred 4.4 percent of the cases to the Control and Investigation Bureau and 3.37 percent to the Presidency of State Security.
