Saudi king fires public security director over corruption

CAIRO - Saudi Arabia's King Salman issued a royal decree to terminate the public security director Khalid al-Harbi and refer him to investigation with corruption charges, the state news agency (SPA) reported on Tuesday.

Charges include embezzlement of public money, forgery, bribery and abuse of influence.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said last November that the Gulf Arab state would continue to take “strong and painful” action against corruption after recovering billions of riyals in settlements over the past three years.

In early 2019 Saudi Arabia launched a new office to monitor state spending, saying it would help keep up the fight against corruption after closing a 15-month campaign that the royal court said then had recovered over $106 billion in settlements with scores of senior princes, ministers and top businessmen.