DUBAI: Saudi King Salman has appointed 30 judges, and promoted 26 amid the on-going anti-graft campaign, reported Saudi Arabia’s state news agency SPA on Thursday.
The king issued a royal to this effect, SPA said.
Saudi authorities have arrested dozens of royal family members, government officials and businessmen in the anti-graft purge that began on Saturday. The detained persons face allegations of money laundering, bribery, extortion and exploiting public office for personal gain.
It was unclear if the judges will have any role in the widening crackdown. Regulators in the United Arab Emirates have asked banks for information about citizens detained in the investigation, a possible prelude to freezing their accounts.
Saudi Arabia has announced it will confiscate assets improperly acquired, and while Riyadh has set no timetable for any such confiscations, banking sources say more than 1,700 domestic bank accounts have already been frozen at the request of the central bank.
Huge amounts of money may be at stake. Corruption has over the years siphoned off $800 billion from Saudi state revenues and bankers believe much of it is held abroad, in countries including Switzerland and Britain.
