JEDDAH: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry receives more than 15,000 complaints monthly regarding trade fraud, according to Commerce and Industry Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabeeah.
Speaking to Al-Hayat Arabic daily, he said the national economy was incurring losses worth tens of billions of riyals annually as a result of trade fraud.
“We will continue to defame traders who practice fraud and violate regulations,” the minister said, and urged citizens to inform the ministry about fraudulent practices.
“Trade fraud has a negative impact on the society, and the ministry wants to make the Saudi market free from manipulation and cheating,” he added.
He stressed that his ministry would take strict action against those involved in fraudulent trade practices and selling substandard products in the market.
“Our ministry is very keen to encourage people to report irregularities in the market by calling specified numbers or using smartphones,” Al-Rabeeah said, adding that the public can download the communication software on their phones in order to send messages to the ministry.
He praised citizens for their cooperation with the ministry in combating commercial fraud. “I am very happy to point out that there is good interaction between citizens and the ministry in this respect, as we receive some 15,000 complaints monthly about commercial fraud cases and sale of fake products,” he added.
According to unofficial figures disclosed by Nasser Al-Tuwaim, president of the Saudi Consumer Protection Society, the Saudi economy suffers a huge loss of SR 40 billion annually as a result of trade fraud.
Meanwhile, members of the ministry’s committee for fighting commercial fraud seized a cosmetic factory that produces fake cosmetics and shampoos at an industrial area of Riyadh.
The ministry has asked business owners to keep a watch on workers under their sponsorship in order to prevent them from taking part in any fraudulent trade practices. According to one source, the ministry has been receiving a large number of complaints on trade fraud from citizens in different parts of the Kingdom through social network sites.
They revealed malpractices in writing production dates of some consumer products during Ramadan. The ministry then defamed the companies and establishments involved in such malpractices.
Ministry receives 15,000 trade fraud complaints monthly
