JEDDAH: The alleged mastermind of a Sawa card scam involving more than a billion riyals said the full repayment of his victims could be made only if his accomplices in the shady dealings returned the money they pocketed, Al-Madinah daily reported yesterday.
“No investor should doubt my determination to return their money in full. They must have learned from reports that the promoters involved in the issue have admitted in the trial court that they appropriated more that SR500 million of investors’ money,” Abdul Aziz Al-Jihani, the kingpin in the investment scam who is spending time in Jeddah’s Briman jail told the local Arabic daily.
Al-Jihani and his accomplices allegedly cheated about 30 investors of SR1.3 billion three years ago. During his trial, he had promised to return SR800 million to the investors. He said other promoters of the fake project appropriated the remaining amount.
Al-Jihani urged the victimized investors to mount pressure on his accomplices to return the money without losing any more time.
He requested the court handling his case to release him on parole so that he could speed up the collection of the money for the repayment.
On the other hand, the victims appreciated the sincere desire expressed by Al-Jihani to return their money. They demanded that Al-Jihani be let off on parole with tight security so that he could do his best to return their money. “We are confident from the confessions of some of Al-Jihani’s accomplices that they have huge sums with them. Therefore, we think it is appropriate to let Al-Jihani go out of jail in the interest of his victims,” M. Sawadi, a leader of the victims said.
Hisham Al-Hanbooli, a lawyer representing Al-Jihani, said he believed that the judge was convinced of the need to release Al-Jihani on parole.
