Court of Summary judge, Abdulaziz Al-Shithri, has accused the mayoralty and the notary public of delaying by 18 months the necessary paperwork needed to sell a piece of property on the Jeddah Corniche that is meant to benefit the victims of fraud, according to sources. The property belongs to businessman Ahmed Solaiman Al-Suraisiri, currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for stealing SR600 million of investors' money. The mayor of Jeddah recently handed over the delayed title deeds to the court. The property is worth about SR200 million. In a letter filed by the judge to Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah, the judge stated that the mayoralty had been addressed on the issue a year and six months ago. The judge stated further that a letter from a legal accountant, written a year ago, showed that the official at the mayoralty had not done what he was requested to do. This had delayed the process of selling the land to benefit the fraud victims. The judge's letter added that the mayoralty official had stalled the legal accountant who had gone to him repeatedly. “The mayoralty did not respond to the court's letters and did not consider the pending rights of people. If the mayoralty does not consider the judiciary, how does it deal with the public?” the letter stated. Al-Shithri stated in the letter that the failure of an official to perform his duty leads to the spread of administrative corruption. The judge further accused the notary public for delaying the title deed. According to the court's letter, the title deed had been at the notary public's office for 70 days without it being processed. The head of the Jeddah Notary Public said the delay was due to a clerical mistake. “The transaction in question was mistakenly placed among others that were already processed. An investigation had been conducted and measures were taken,” he said. He said the transaction was not followed up by the Court of Summary “not by phone or in writing. No relevant body has addressed the notary public office about it,” he said. The court has taken possession of around SR30 million in money from Al-Suraisiri's bank account and placed it in an account set up to compensate investors. The court is expected to hold its first hearings at the end of the month when 23 other accused will face trial. Al-Suraisiri is currently in the fourth year of his 15-year prison term. The sentence, brought through public legal action, includes lashes and a 10-year travel ban after his release. Private action against him is currently being considered.
