The land will be auctioned off at Le Méridien Hotel from 5 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the court-appointed case auditor Saleh Al-Naeem told Arab News.

“All preparations are in place for the auction of the plots in Jeddah's Al-Shatie district. No reporter will be allowed inside the auction hall without proper accreditation papers,” he said. “The proceedings will be totally transparent and will be shown live via CCTV on 25 screens. The plots offered on auction will also be shown with their full details.”

He added that the general court in Jeddah informed case liquidator Abdullah Omar Naseef that its commission will not attend the auction as the case is currently handled by the local administrative court. “Detailed audio and video recordings of all proceedings will be made,” Al-Naeem said.

The auditor, who said affected investors would be paid back in installments, hoped that about a quarter of their lost money would be given to them after the auction.

As part of the arrangements, a bidder will have to deposit a check for SR100,000 for each plot he intends to bid for upon entering the auction hall and will receive a ticket allowing him to participate.

He will also have to sign a declaration that he is familiar with the land he is bidding for. The check will be returned if the bidder does not win the individual auction.

Al-Ajhouri has been in prison in Jeddah and Riyadh for the last 28 years after being convicted of swindling more than SR1 billion from 8,765 investors from 37 countries in fake real estate investments. The auditor urged his victims to update their details online. The victims include 3,623 Saudis, 1,472 Egyptians, 913 Palestinians, 778 Jordanians, 590 Syrians, 340 Yemenis, 180 Pakistanis, 51 Sudanese in addition to a number of unregistered investors.

Al-Naeem declined to comment on press reports that Al-Ajhouri had objected to the auction and demanded to be present in person. It was also reported that Al-Ajhouri had said his Al-Shatie plots would generate more money than the amount fixed by the liquidators.

“The liquidators are not concerned with his statements. We are working under royal decrees and according to court orders. We are concerned with finishing our work and giving the investors at least some of their money back. We want to close this case, which has been continuing for such a long time,” Al-Naeem said.

A 14,000 square meter plot of agricultural land that Al-Ajhouri owns in Madinah will be sold in another auction, he added.