RIYADH — Following Saudi Arabia’s efforts to fight administrative corruption, the number of complaints received by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha) increased by about 50 percent during the fiscal year 2018, the commission said in its annual report.

Nazaha said this indicated the increased confidence of citizens and residents in the commission’s activities.

In 2018, the number of complaints the commission received rose to 15,591 from 10,402 in the financial year 2017 and 6,482 in 2016.

Complaints that came under the commission’s jurisdiction exceeded 46 percent with 7,421 reports.

Financial and administrative corruption cases topped the list complaints with 74.3 percent. The reports about misuse of power accounted for 28.9 percent of the cases.

Cases of embezzlement and wastage of public money was 17.6 percent, and nepotism accounted for 15.9 percent of the complaints. Only 0.4 percent of the whistleblowers sought protection from the authorities.

Nazaha completed processing of 59 percent of the complaints and referred 4.4 percent of the cases to the Control and Investigation Board and 3.37 percent to the Presidency of State Security.

Concerning cases that do not fall under its jurisdiction, Nazaha said it referred 10 percent of those reports to the competent entities.

Nazaha’s app for smart devices received 29 percent of the reports, followed by its website (23.6%). While 19.2 percent of the cases were reported through personal visits, 1.5 percent of the complaints were sent by telegram.

Nazaha announced the statistics to underline transparency and the commission’s integrity in fighting corruption in all its forms in accordance with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.

It emphasized the importance of cooperation by all citizens and residents in reporting any case of financial or administrative corruption by any of the means for reporting, which include the Nazaha website, the Nazaha App, Fax No. 0112645555 and the call center 19991.

The commission thanked all government entities that cooperated with it in its endeavor to fight corruption in the country. — SG