JEDDAH — A four-member gang that was involved in fraudulent means after setting up a fictitious endowment, was arrested in one of the regions of Saudi Arabia. The gang is comprised of two citizens and two expatriates, including a woman of Arab nationality. An official source at the Public Prosecution said that it was revealed in its investigations that the perpetrators formed an organized criminal gang to steal the money of others through this alleged fictitious endowment. The gang is involved in obtaining money from people after marketing the endowment through social media. They collected clothes and donations in kind under the pretext of distributing them among the poor and needy and later resold them and earned money through this. It was also revealed in the investigation that the perpetrators persuaded the donors to enable them to have access to their real estate assets and register them in the names of fictitious citizens, with the intention of exploiting them and seizing their resources in a fraudulent way. The Public Prosecution's investigations have been completed and charges were framed against the accused that they were involved in financial fraud by creating a fictitious endowment and fraudulently seizing the funds of others. The gang members were referred to the competent court with pleading to award them maximum penalties stipulated in the Anti-Financial Fraud and Breach of Trust Law. The Public Prosecution source emphasized the legal protection of endowment assets, charity works, and financial resources for non-profit activities. The sources pointed out that harming the endowment assets or exploiting the community's passion to do charitable work to unjustly seize their money is one of the major crimes that warrant arrest and necessitate strict criminal accountability.
