Washington, D.C. – Nazaha, Saudi Arabia’s National Anti-Corruption Commission, has been given whistleblower evidence that implicates Ahmed S. AlRajhi, the country’s current Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, and his brother, Abdallah S. AlRajhi, Chairman of the world’s largest Islamic bank, in a billion-dollar plan to defraud hundreds of investors through embezzlement, racketeering, forgery, and witness intimidation.
The Global Justice Foundation, a D.C.-based nonprofit focused on combatting commercial corruption, submitted its findings after a comprehensive review of leaked documents that show how sons of famed banker, Suleiman AlRajhi, and their staff orchestrated a strategy of asset devaluation, restructuring fraud, compliance violations, fraudulent financial reporting, subornation, and coercion to cheat investors and Omar Ayesh, the founding shareholder of Tameer, an Emirati real estate developer once valued at over $5 billion dollars. Ahmed AlRajhi is Tameer’s former Chairman in addition to his ministerial role; and he supervised the scheme. Hundreds of pages of evidence collected over several years were provided to the Saudi authorities after publication of a legal analysis by Bruce Casino, Esq., a compliance and white-collar crimes expert. Casino compared to the crimes to those of Bernie Madoff, Enron, and others.
The Foundation submitted its findings to His Excellency Mazen bin Ibrahim bin Mohammed Al-Kahmous, President of the Control and Anti-Corruption Commission; H.E Dr. Bandar bin Ahmed Abalkhail, Vice President of the National Anti-Corruption Commission for the Protection of Integrity; and H.E Abdulmohsen bin Mohammed Al-Munif, Vice President for Fighting Corruption.
Nazaha recently arrested 172 individuals on charges of bribery, abuse of office, forgery and misuse of power as part of the Kingdom’s campaign to stamp out corruption. Authorities made the announcement as the Assistant to the President for International Collaboration at the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority received the Deputy Chief of Mission, United States Embassy in Riyadh, Denison “Denny” Offutt. The US has been engaged with the authority for some time, most recently through the American Chamber of Commerce’s participation in a “Reforms Shaping the New Saudi Business Landscape” discussion held in Riyadh. Although Nazaha was established in 2011, it has found renewed support by the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, who has given the body broad authority to crack down on corruption in the Kingdom.
Abdallah AlRajhi’s compliance violations were also submitted to H.E. Dr. Fahad Abdullah AlMubarak, Chairman of the Saudi Central Bank, Sama; H.E. Mohammed A. El-Kuwaiz, Chairman of the Capital Markets Authority of Saudi Arabia; and H.E. Khalid Al Hussan, CEO of the Saudi Market Exchange, Tadawul. The AlRajhi Bank has been monitored by US authorities for facilitating terrorism in the past; and, in fact, JPMorgan ended its relationship with the bank as it “couldn’t get enough information on where payments in dollar-clearing services for Al-Rajhi had originated.” Proof of corruption in the Tameer case includes evidence that Abdallah orchestrated bank agreements to transfer loans to shell companies in exchange for assets as well as tacitly endorsing unaudited financial records in violation of local laws and international standards.
The Ayesh vs. AlRajhi case has been in litigation for 13 years; however, Dubai’s public prosecutor has yet to examine evidence of corruption in the matter. 25 court-appointed experts in seven committees reviewed details of the case but several were unable to reach conclusions due to abuse of process. Despite the obstruction, panels in the case did issue three reports in favor of Ayesh with awards of 4.2 billion, 6.8 billion and, as recently as November 2020, 1.6 billion UAE dirhams plus penalties, which would amount to over half a billion U.S. dollars. The appeal has been referred to the Dubai Ruler’s Court of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum as of May 2021. The Casino analysis was submitted to recipients via electronic mail and courier.
The GJF is a non-profit, Washington, D.C.-based organization helping nations with anti-corruption goals hold people in positions of influence accountable, particularly where leaders may be unaware of corruption within government ranks. We count among our volunteer Board and counsel eminent lawyers including Michael Steele, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, and former Virginia Congressman Jim Moran (D) as well as former federal prosecutor and Assistant United States Attorney Sidney Powell and former United Sates circuit judge and U.S. solicitor-general, Ken Starr.
