RIYADH: The Riyadh-based anti-graft body, Nazaha, is investigating the case of a vacant building belonging to the King Saud Medical City (KSMC), which appears to have been involved in a suspicious SR1.366 million deal.

In a statement, the National Anticorruption Commission has opened a field investigation based on a tip-off from a citizen regarding the continued renting of the administrative building in Riyadh that had been unused for the last three years.

A Nazaha spokesman, Abdul Rahman Al-Ajlan, said that the body assigned one of its employees to check the information and confirmed its veracity.

The spokesman said that the case has been referred to the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution for necessary action.

“Nazaha is taking action on the principle of transparency, the protection of integrity and the combating of corruption in all its forms and manifestations,” Al-Ajlan observed, adding that this is in accordance with the provisions of the national strategy to fight corruption.

He continued: "Nazaha requests that citizens and residents cooperate with the organization by reporting any suspicious deals to them for further investigation."

Recently, the commission uncovered a number of cases of bribery, fraud, abuses of power and the wastage of public money that took place in Tabarjal, Al-Jouf province, involving construction firms and government employees. The amount involved is reported to be close to SR30 million for road construction projects under the Ministry of Transport.