The Administrative Court in Jeddah has charged 20 municipal officials with fraud and bribery involving SR5 million.

The court also charged six others, including businessmen, expatriates and employees in the private and government sectors.

One of the men charged said there were no documents to indict him, to which Judge Saad Al-Maliki replied: “You are faced with 20 pieces of evidence compiled in a case file by the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution.” The official and three other defendants rejected the charges and said that what was presented in previous sessions was sufficient evidence in their defense.

The public prosecutor stuck to the charges and the court fixed a hearing next month.

The Control and Investigation Board (CIB) indictment against an official in the Jeddah Municipality said he received bribes worth SR640,000 in return for studying solutions for rain and floodwater drainage in a number of residential schemes in Jeddah.

Charges against other defendants involved bribery, fraud and exploiting positions of power.