RIYADH, 10 July 2007 — A Saudi citizen who allegedly used fake employment identification papers to trick some local banks into giving him loans was arrested in the capital, Riyadh police announced yesterday.
The police said that the 21-year-old man worked with a foreign national, who was an expert in forging documents, in his operations.
The local had struck a deal with the foreigner to provide him with a forged employment identification paper stating that he worked for a government department.
The document provided the man’s name, his ID details, fake employment information and a falsified government certification stamp.
“Riyadh police received a call reporting this incident after he approached a local bank. It assumed the suspect would follow up with his scam and planned an ambush to catch him,” according to the statement from the Riyadh police department.
The police said that it had informed local bank officials in the district to take precautions and inform them when the suspect arrives at one of their bank’s branches in the same district.
“The suspect, driving a Camry, indeed approached another bank in the district with another forged employment document to ask for another loan,” the statement continued.
Bank officials informed the police who arrived at the local bank and arrested him.
The police said the man confessed that he had been previously arrested for financial disputes and released. The young man also confessed that he had obtained the forged documents from an Asian man in the capital.
“The Riyadh police dispatched a special unit to track down the Asian man. He was arrested at his residence,” the statement said.
“The police investigation unit found several forged documents and forged government stamps in his procession.”
The police said that both the local man and the foreigner are in police custody and will be handed over to concerned justice departments for them to be tried according to the charges against them.
