RIYADH, 1 September 2004 — A senior official at the Ministry of Health has been commended for refusing more than SR10 million in bribe from a private health care company.
Minister of Health Dr. Hamad Al-Manie revealed yesterday that police have arrested the owner of a large pharmacy group for trying to bribe the director general of the medical and pharmaceutical licensing department for the transfer of ownership of 200 pharmacies evading ministry regulations.
“The arrest was made in coordination with the Anti-Corruption Investigation Department at the Ministry of Interior,” the minister said, and warned anyone trying to bypass the regulations by paying bribes would meet the same fate.
The ministry introduced the regulations to curb some monopoly business practices involving the Saudi private health care sector. Such practices, the ministry said in a statement, have led to a lot of complaints regarding unfair business competition that has resulted in growing bankruptcy in the Saudi private health care sector. This has created an unhealthy trend in terms of the business environment.
When the official realized the seriousness of the bribe offer, he informed the health minister. The minister instructed the official to pretend to accept the offer. In the meantime, he alerted the AID to investigate the incident.
The cooperation between the Ministry of Health and AID eventually led to the confirmation of the graft case, especially after the company had paid SR1 million to the official as an advance.
A Health Ministry panel assigned to monitoring forgery and bribery cases has advised the ministry that officials holding top posts in various departments must be both well qualified and well experienced. “These officials should also have a reputation for being trustworthy and honest, and should have an unblemished record in office,” an official source quoted the panel as advising the ministry.
The advisory came in the wake of the disclosure that a health department official in Jeddah has been suspended for allegedly swindling the department of SR3 million.
The official was accused of demanding a percentage from health contracts from companies and individuals in return for his favor. The man is also accused of selling ministry visas and employing its workers in private firms.
This scandal surfaced at a time when the ministry is planning to issue new regulations as part of an effort to prevent bribery, forgery and the exploitation of personal authority for private ends. The new regulations state that no senior administrative official will be allowed to remain in the same job for more than four years.
According to the Riyadh-based Naif Arab Academy for Security Sciences (NAASS), a total of 364 cases of bribery involving 747 people, including 486 Saudis, were reported in the Kingdom last year.
Riyadh reported the highest number of bribery cases followed by the Makkah region. The lowest number of bribery cases was reported in Qasim region.
Cases of commercial fraud involving Saudis and expatriates have increased with one or two cases reported every week in the local media. The report said that Saudi Arabia had already stepped up efforts to check corruption and drug-trafficking. The Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CSCCI) has directed all chambers across the country to combat money laundering and commercial fraud.
