Kandara who is accused of taking up to SR1 million in the name of the Al-Birr Charity has enlisted his brother to negotiate an amicable settlement that would see the return of SR200,000, a sum which may force the imam to sell his house. After previously denying all charges in the press, the imam finally confessed before the Control and Investigation Bureau to two instances of theft, the first involving SR200,000 a donator believed was destined for Al-Birr, and the second amounting to SR700,000 allegedly taken from a businesswoman donator. The first charge is being investigated by the Board of Grievances and the other case is currently due to go to the General Court in Jeddah. The imam, who has been released from jail under the guarantee of his brothers, has requested time to gather the sum required before the start of his trial at the Board of Grievances, set be scheduled for between Oct.19 and Nov.18. The imam reportedly abused his position at Al-Birr to continue taking donations from trusting individuals after his services were terminated by the charity five months ago by using forged Al-Birr seals and documents. His activities were exposed when donators approached Al-Birr to discover that their contributions had not reached the charity's bank account.
