Saudi King told of massive abuse of funds

[Chief Editor]

Saudi King told of massive abuse of funds

© Emirates Business

12 January 2010

Saudi Arabia's top government auditing body has reported massive abuse of public funds in a report presented to King Abdullah to seek his support for an intensifying anti-corruption crackdown in the world's oil superpower.

The General Auditing Bureau (GAB) complained to King Abdullah on Sunday that government offices are involved in illegal spending of public money while some are holding up projects and others do not comply with budgetary allocations.

GAB's Chairman Osama Al Faqih told the monarch that many public institutions have failed to heed the cabinet decision and set up in-house auditing units to ensure discipline and curb financial malpractices. "We are looking forward to your majesty's support to enable the bureau to perform its duties properly," Faqih said.

"We hope that you issue instructions to government departments to ensure full co-operation with the bureau so it can carry out its role objectively and independently to cope with the large increase in public expenditure."

By Nadim Kawach