Bribery Punishment in Saudi Arabia: Briber, Official, Middleman

Your file at a government office has been stuck for two months, and someone tells you: “Pay three thousand and it will be done tomorrow. The employee knows me.” Your application is lawful and your right is clear. Is paying a bribe if you are not asking for anything unlawful?

Yes. Article 1 of the Anti-Bribery Law treats a public employee as taking a bribe if he asks for, accepts or takes a promise or gift to perform an act of his job, “even if that act is lawful”. The penalty is up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to SAR 1 million, or one of them. The person who pays and the middleman receive the same penalty (Article 10). So the fact that your application is lawful does not change what the payment is.

What forms does bribery of a public employee take?

The law does not limit bribery to paying money for an unlawful act. An employee is treated as taking a bribe if he asks for himself or for someone else, or accepts or takes a promise or gift:

• To perform an act of his job, even if it is lawful, and even if he does not intend to do it (Article 1).
• To refrain from an act of his job, even if refraining is lawful (Article 2).
• To breach the duties of his job, or as a reward for what he did, even without an earlier agreement (Article 3).

A “gift” does not mean only cash. Article 12 treats any benefit or advantage of any kind or name, material or not, as a promise or gift. So calling the money a “present”, “commission” or “tip” does not change what it is if it is linked to the employee's work. It is also not required that the employee takes the money for himself; it is enough that he asks for it for someone else.

Who counts as a public employee under the Anti-Bribery Law?

Article 8 widens the meaning. The following are treated as public employees:

• Anyone working for the state or a body with public legal personality, permanently or temporarily.
• An arbitrator or expert appointed by the government or by a body with judicial powers, and anyone given a specific task by a government body.
• Employees of companies that run public utilities or provide a public service, joint stock companies, companies in which the government holds shares, and bodies that carry out banking business, as well as the chairmen and members of their boards.
• Employees and board members of public-benefit civil associations, and foreign public officials and employees of international organisations in connection with international business.

So a bank employee and an employee of a joint stock company are treated like public employees under this law, with the penalty in Article 1.

What is the punishment for bribery in Saudi Arabia?

In addition, the money or advantage involved, or its value, is confiscated, together with any proceeds from it (Article 15). A convicted employee is dismissed and barred from public office (Article 13). A person who commits bribery again within 5 years of finishing his sentence may receive more than the maximum, up to double it (Article 18). A company for whose benefit the bribery was committed is fined up to 10 times the value of the bribe, or barred from contracting with government bodies, or both (Article 19).

What about bribery in the private sector?

Articles 9 bis (1) and 9 bis (2) were added by Royal Decree M/4 dated 2/1/1440H. Since then, asking for or offering a bribe in private companies and establishments, associations and professional bodies is a crime, when it is to perform or refrain from an act “in a way that breaches his job duties”. A purchasing manager who asks for 5% of the contract value to approve a certain supplier, and the supplier who pays it, are both covered.

On the other hand, a declared commission in a lawful brokerage contract, or the fees of an agent (mu'aqqib) who provides a real service within his role, is not a bribe in itself. The question is always: who benefits from the money, in what capacity, and does it pay for a real service or for a breach of job duty?

A business owner paid an agent SAR 2,000 in fees to prepare and submit a file, with a clear contract and receipt. These are fees for a service.

But if the agent says SAR 1,500 of it is “for the employee to push the application through”, the agent is now a middleman and the person paying is a briber. Both face the penalty for the crime (Article 10), even if the application met all the conditions.

Is a person who reports bribery exempted?

Article 16 exempts the payer or the middleman from the main and additional penalties if he informs the authorities of the crime before it is discovered. Timing is the condition: reporting after the matter has come to light does not give this exemption. A person who reports a bribe, where his information leads to proving it and he was not the payer, a partner or a middleman, receives a reward of at least SAR 5,000 and no more than half the value of the money confiscated (Article 17).

If you are asked for money, record what happened: who asked, when, in what capacity, and the messages. Give the information to the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) or the competent authority. Do not try to set up a “trap” yourself or publish the accusation on social media.

This is general information based on the official Arabic texts of Saudi laws, which prevail over any translation. It is not legal advice for your specific case.

Practical solutions for both sides

If you are asked for money, or you have a pending application:

• Pay official fees with a receipt from the government body itself. Do not hand money to a person who promises to speed things up.
• If you use an agent or service provider, write a contract stating the service and the fees, and do not accept an “other expenses” item without explanation.
• If you have already paid, report it before the matter is discovered. This alone opens the door to the exemption in Article 16.
• Keep the messages as they are. Do not fabricate a recording or message to strengthen your account.

If you are an employee, a company owner, or accused in a case:

• Refuse any gift or advantage from someone whose application you are handling, whatever it is called and whatever its value.
• In a company, adopt a written policy on gifts and conflicts of interest. Article 19 punishes the company if bribery is committed for its benefit.
• If you are accused of being a middleman just because you were part of a conversation, ask for exactly what you did and what you knew to be identified.
• Do not sign statements or settlements that hide what the payment really was. This makes your position worse.

If you have been asked for money and want to understand your position before you act, send us the messages and details you have on WhatsApp, and we will review them with you in confidence.