Saudi Arabia’s oil ministry is facing corruption charges which have been presented as the first case to the Gulf country’s anti-corruption authority a few days after it was created by a royal order, a newspaper said on Wednesday.
The National Authority for Combating Corruption said it had received the case involving the oil ministry and Maaden, a semi-government establishment involved in searching for gold and other metals in the world’s oil powerhouse.
The case file, presented to the Authority’s chairman Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Sharif, comprises documents and pictures proving the oil ministry and Maaden have collaborated in “advancing private financial interest on public health interests,” the Saudi Arabic language daily Alikhbariya said.
“They have done this by causing pollution in a public place in Mahd province in violation of environmental conditions and rules…this has been proven by several universities and institutes inside and outside Saudi Arabia.”
According to the paper, Saudi oil minister Ali Al Nuaimi has received a letter in this respect from prince Abdul Aziz bin Majid bin Abdul Aziz, Emir of the western region of Madina, where the gold-rich Mahd province is located.
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