The Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution in Makkah is investigating a 30-year-old Saudi man for allegedly blackmailing a 35-year-old Saudi woman for over SR3 million in cash and valuables, and threatening to kill her.

The individual reportedly blackmailed the woman, a government worker, into giving him her valuables worth SR3 million, including gold, three of her ATM cards, and SR355,000 from her accounts. He also reportedly purchased a new 2015 Honda Accord using her money and was about to buy a Lexus Jeep before being caught.

The woman had complained to the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia) in Al-Mansour district, saying she had trusted the man because he drove her to work every day.

She claimed that he had recorded their private phone conversations to blackmail her. She further alleged that he tried to rape her. He had also photographed her, and then threatened to either murder her or publish the photographs if she failed to respond to his demands, she claimed.

Haia officials set up a plan to have the man meet her at a market in Al-Mansour. They arrested him when he arrived, and allegedly found in his possession the victim’s bankcards, other belongings, and messages on his mobile phone. He was referred to Al-Mansour police station, with the case then transferred to the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution.