JEDDAH, 19 November — Saudi police have arrested a contractor who was reported to have fled the country via the Salimiyyah Border Crossing between the Kingdom and Kuwait before fulfilling his contractual obligations. The man, whose name has not been released, was arrested while attempting to re-enter the Kingdom.
Saudi police received a tip-off from the Turkish police about his movements shortly before his arrest. The Turkish police were also looking for him, as he had been involved in swindling a number of Turkish workers before fleeing that country as well into Kuwait.
The man is alleged to have fled the Kingdom earlier after collecting a huge sum of money from a number of real estate owners who had entrusted him with renovation of their buildings. They were deceived by an advertisement placed in local newspapers stating that his firm undertook such work and would accept payment in installments, one of his victims said at the police station where the contractor was being held.
According to the arrested contractor, who was contacted by Arab News, he owed less than SR40,000 to his clients — a small amount compared to the more than SR13 million quoted in some press reports.
The contractor explained that he had left the country because of harassment by his creditors but then returned with plans "to re-launch his firm".
He denied having partaken in any swindling operations in Turkey. "I didn’t cheat anyone. I rest my case with the Makkah governorate and the Ministry of Interior," he stated.
Police said the likelihood of the contractor being released on bail was very slim because he is also wanted in connection with many other cases.
A small crowd has gathered at the police station to press for compensation. They already stated their grievances on an earlier occasion at the governorate when they first heard of the contractor’s disappearance.
Employees at the contractor’s office said he had left the country without their knowledge and they had not received a salary since then.
