The Saudi Authority for Transparency and Anti-Corruption, known as "Nazaha," revealed details regarding the investigations into the collapse of a residential building in the Faisaliah district of Jeddah that resulted in fatalities, a incident that generated extensive reactions among social media activists.
The authority stated in a statement: "In reference to what has been circulated in the media regarding the residential building collapse in the Faisaliah neighborhood of Jeddah, which occurred on 22/11/1445 H, corresponding to 30/05/2024, resulting in (7) deaths and (8) injuries... Nazaha has initiated a search and investigation after it became apparent that there were indicators of corruption in issuing building permits for the property, coordinating with the committee formed at the directive of His Royal Highness the Governor of Makkah Region to investigate the incident, and the case has been referred to the authority."
Nazaha continued: "After conducting necessary investigations, technical defects were found in the building, prompting the municipality at the time to request that the property's owner, Firas Hani Jamal Al-Turki - who is the Deputy Minister of Culture for Shared Services - halt construction and consult with the municipality; however, he failed to do so. Furthermore, his legal representative, Fahd Hussein Ali Sanba, who works under the aforementioned deputy minister, contacted an engineering consulting office owned by Maajid Mohammed Jamil Bashnaq through the intermediary, the building's contractor, Mohammed Salem Ahmed Al-Hosseisi - a Yemeni national - in an attempt to obtain a building permit through the office for the addition of two floors and an upper annex."
It added: "Subsequently, one of the employees at the engineering office submitted a request for a demolition permit and then a request for a building permit that included forged information - containing manipulated images modified by specialized software indicating that the building was demolished, contrary to reality - for an amount of (50,000) fifty thousand riyals, which the property owner transferred to his legal representative, who handed the cash to one of the office employees; the project's contractor proceeded with construction, leading to increased loads and the collapse of the building."
Nazaha confirmed: "The property owner acknowledged that he had paid the aforementioned amount as a bribe to issue a building permit for his property in an illegal manner. The mentioned individuals have been detained pending the case, and legal procedures are being taken against them. Nazaha affirms its commitment to enforce the law against violators without leniency."
