The statement said 320 persons were summoned by the commission with the addition of others after first investigations began on Nov. 9 based on the information provided by the detainees.
The anti-corruption commission referred a number of the arrested to the kingdom's public prosecutor's office. The number of detainees to date stands at 159.
"Most of those who have been confronted with corruption charges against them by the committee have agreed to a settlement and the necessary procedures are being completed," the statement said.
"The Public Prosecution examined the files of those referred to it in accordance with the relevant legal procedures and decided to detain a limited number of them and released the rest," the attorney general's statement added.
According to the statement, the total number of those who have been detained and whose accounts have been frozen stands at 376.
The statement on the next phases of the investigation reads below:
Phase I: The Negotiation and Settlement Phase:
This stage is based on a system according to which the Royal Order, referred to above, states that the committee "decides what it deems beneficial in the public interest, especially with those who have responded positively to them."
Accordingly, the Committee has followed internationally applied methods in dealing with these cases by negotiating with detainees on the corruption charges, and offering a settlement agreement to facilitate the recovery of state funds and shortening the litigation procedures that usually take a long time.
It should be noted that all detainees are free to communicate with whoever they wish at this stage, that they are not being coerced in anyway, and have the right to reject the settlement at any time before signing. As such the following underlines:
- Charging the detainee with all the crimes against him. If he fully and voluntarily pleads guilty, he will sign a settlement agreement to be paid to the State in exchange for the Committee's recommendation of an amnesty for the rights of the state. Accordingly, a settlement agreement shall be signed containing such references.
- In the event of failure to reach a settlement or if the detainee pleaded not guilty, he is referred to the Public Prosecution to complete the legal proceedings against him.
The Public Prosecution shall consider the case referred to it by the Committee and shall complete the statutory procedures:
- Continuing to investigate and confronting the accused with evidence and proof against him in corruption offenses in accordance with the investigation procedures provided for in the Code of Criminal Procedure.
- He shall be in detention for the duration of the investigation. If the evidence against him is strong, he shall be suspended in accordance with the prescribed periods which can reach six months in accordance with the powers of the Attorney-General, or, in exceptional cases, by a decision of the competent court.
- The Public Prosecution shall release the accused as soon as the investigation has concluded that the evidence against the detainee is insufficient and that there is no basis for prosecution. Otherwise, the case shall be brought against him in accordance with the regular procedures.
Comment: In contrast to the rights listed above, there are still reports that at least some detainees have been tortured. Whatever the truth may be, if the strategy was to get a whole lot of money for MBS's state projects, it has been a big success. In a country where practically everyone is corrupt, and the most corrupt are the richest, simply go after corruption, offer a form of amnesty in return for compensation, and there you go. Of course, that can only happen if you secure your personal safety first. MBS seems to have done that much successfully, at least. The next difficulty is avoiding the resentment and possible retaliation from those who realize they were only targeted for their wealth, when everyone else is engaged in similar financial crimes. In that regard, we'll just have to wait and see if MBS's strategy will be fully successful or not.