JEDDAH: The Control and Investigation Board (CIB) is expected to charge five officials with embezzlement and squandering of about SR10 million in connection with the program to fight dengue fever in Jeddah, sources told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. “A university professor who was seconded to work at the Jeddah Mayoralty is one of the accused, along with four employees in various administrative posts at the mayoralty and two engineers in the General Administration for Combating Insects and Preventative Health,” a source said. “One of them left his job before the financial violations were uncovered.” The CIB, which recently received the case files from the Investigation Committee, will soon summon the accused for questioning, according to sources. The Prosecutor General at the CIB will charge the employees with embezzlement, wasting and squandering of public funds, covering up their crimes and using fake documents, a source said. All the accused will be referred to the judiciary to face trial for the public right. Sources confirmed that the Investigation Committee dropped charges against one person. The employees are accused of squandering an estimated SR10 million out of SR30 million allocated for the project, according to sources. Sulaiman Al-Jumay'i, a lawyer and legal consultant, said he has been approached to represent some of the accused, but first wants to study the CIB charge sheet before making a decision. Al-Jumay'i told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that some of the accused are highly qualified in engineering and planning, and that they had been assigned a number of administrative and technical tasks during their work at the Jeddah Mayoralty. He confirmed that charges focus on administrative and financial corruption, and embezzlement.
