The Riyadh branch of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Haia) has arrested a Saudi man for allegedly conning two women out of SR1 million and then threatening to post their pictures online when they wanted their money back.

The Haia arrested the man after the women, in two separate incidents, laid complaints against him. They said they had met him on a social networking site, and had agreed to send him their photographs because he had proposed marriage.

He later said that he was a businessman and asked them to invest money in his enterprise. They agreed and sent him a total of SR1 million.

When they asked him for a return on their investment, he threatened to publish their photographs on social media sites. According to Saudi tradition, women only provide their photographs if they are involved in serious relationships that can lead to marriage.

The Haia tracked the man down in an area close to the capital and referred him to the country’s prosecuting authority.

It was also discovered that he had been involved in blackmailing several other women.