Joint forces commander Prince Fahad bin Turki — a senior royal member of the family — and Abdulaziz bin Fahad, the deputy emir of northern Al-Jouf area, had been fired and positioned below investigation for corruption, based on the report.
A number of different officers and civilian staff of the protection ministry had been additionally being probed for corruption, it added, citing a royal decree from King Salman.
Prince Fahad served because the commander of the Saudi-led army coalition preventing Iran-linked Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen.
He was changed by Mutlaq bin Salim, the deputy chief of workers, on the advice of the dominion’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, state media mentioned.
The federal government determination to sack the commander was a “very public signal against corruption in the military,” mentioned Saudi creator and analyst Ali Shihabi.
The announcement marks the newest authorities crackdown on what officers describe as endemic corruption within the kingdom.
Senior Saudi safety commanders had been amongst a string of officers sacked final month over graft allegations at tourism initiatives.
In March, Human Rights Watch voiced alarm over the arrest of 298 Saudi officers over corruption allegations, warning of doable “unfair legal proceedings” in an opaque judicial system.
Navy and judicial officers had been amongst these arrested over allegations of bribery and embezzlement amounting to a complete of 379 million riyals ($101 million), based on the state anti-corruption watchdog.
The watchdog mentioned the arrests got here after it criminally investigated 674 state staff, nevertheless it neither named any of the suspects nor said when its probe occurred.
A marketing campaign in opposition to graft launched in 2017 noticed lots of of elite princes, ministers and businessmen detained on the luxurious Ritz-Carlton lodge within the capital Riyadh.
Many had been held there for weeks and most had been subsequently launched after agreeing to vital monetary settlements. Authorities mentioned they recovered greater than 400 billion Saudi riyals ($107 billion).
The anti-graft sweep led by Prince Mohammed was labeled by many critics as a shakedown and an influence seize.
Saudi Arabia sacks military commander over alleged corruption
