Personnel Risk:
Very High
Score:
22/100
Leadership Behaviour
Q34
17/100
Do the Defence Ministry, Defence Minister, Chiefs of Defence, and Single Service Chiefs publicly commit, through, for example, speeches, media interviews, or political mandates, to anti-corruption and integrity measures?
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According to our sources, there is very little anti-corruption communication and commitment through official channels. According to one source, in the last five years,…
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According to our sources, there is a public commitment from the senior leadership, but not the military leadership. The commander in chief, who happens…
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According to our sources, the only person who issues such statement is the crown prince. Except for Crown Prince and Minister of Defence Mohammed…
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Q35
63/100
Are there effective measures in place for personnel found to have taken part in forms of bribery and corruption, and is there evidence that these measures are being carried out?
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According to our sources, there are clear and defined laws against bribery, the giving or receiving money in exchange of services, within the government,…
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According to our sources, corruption cases are superficially investigated and measures are not taken against corrupt officials even in the face of clear evidence…
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Q36
17/100
Is whistleblowing encouraged by the government, and are whistle-blowers in military and defence ministries afforded adequate protection from reprisal for reporting evidence of corruption, in both law and practice?
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Nazaha, Saudi Arabia’s main anti-corruption body, has produced regulations which in theory protect whistleblowers (1). However, these laws have in the past been characterized…
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As above mentioned, Saudi authorities have, since at least November 2017, prioritized cracking down on corruption, although their methods have been criticized for lacking…
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There are a number of factors to consider with regards to whistleblowing. According to our sources, there is a high level of distrust between…
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Q37
0/100
Is special attention paid to the selection, time in post, and oversight of personnel in sensitive positions, including officials and personnel in defence procurement, contracting, financial management, and commercial management?
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While the government does not make public its selection criteria for military or defence personnel, our sources confirm that authorities do not recognize the…
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This sub-indicator is scored Not Applicable as there is no recognition that certain positions may be more open to corruption opportunities than others. According…
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This sub-indicator is scored Not Applicable as there is no recognition that certain positions may be more open to corruption opportunities than others. According…
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Payroll, Promotions, Appointments, Rewards
Q38
0/100
Is the number of civilian and military personnel accurately known and publicly available?
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According to our sources, the strength of the Saudi army is unknown, even to soldiers and many senior officers. There is no public data…
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According to our sources, there are no clear and accurate numbers of soldiers. Although one of the sources has access to the numbers of…
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According to our sources, ghost soldiers are not a serious issue within the MoD in general, but they have been in the past (before…
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Q39
13/100
Are pay rates and allowances for civilian and military personnel openly published?
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The government does not publish detailed information on pay rates or salaries for civilian or military employees either on government websites, recruitment webpages or…
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According to our sources, fixed allowances (bonuses for accommodation, cars, etc.) for senior commanders are not published; however, allowance and bonus increases by royal…
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Q40
58/100
Do personnel receive the correct pay on time, and is the system of payment well-established, routine, and published?
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According to our sources, there have been no delays in payments at all. The system works, and payments are received at the end of…
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According to our sources, all employees of the MoD from soldiers to senior commanders receive the correct stated payments. If there is an error,…
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The payment system for military and other government employees is not published in Saudi Arabia. According to our sources, there is a new payment…
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Q41
0/100
Is there an established, independent, transparent, and objective appointment system for the selection of military personnel at middle and top management level?
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According to our sources, there is no public information available for citizens or even for soldiers on the official process of appointments. The usual…
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According to our sources, there is no formal and independent mechanism to scrutinize the appointment of top and middle-level military personnel in Saudi Arabia.…
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There is no information released by the government about the appointment process. Appointments are only announced at a later stage and with no reference…
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Q42
6/100
Are personnel promoted through an objective, meritocratic process? Such a process would include promotion boards outside of the command chain, strong formal appraisal processes, and independent oversight.
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According to our sources, there is a committee of appointments and promotions, especially for low-ranking positions. However, this committee is influenced by tribal and…
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There are no regulations that limit the possible circumstances in which ranks can be awarded at the discretion of Saudi authorities. For example, according…
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The government does not publish criteria relating to promotion, demotion, or the assignment of its military personnel, nor does it publicly clarify information about…
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The government does not publish criteria relating to promotion, demotion, or the assignment of its military personnel, nor does it publicly clarify information about…
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Conscription and Recruitment
Q43
NA/100
Where compulsory conscription occurs, is there a policy of not accepting bribes for avoiding conscription? Are there appropriate procedures in place to deal with such bribery, and are they applied?
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Saudi Arabia has no compulsory military conscription; therefore this question is not applicable (1), (2). According to our sources, although there is no specific…
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As there is no military conscription in Saudi Arabia, this question is marked not applicable.
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As there is no military conscription in Saudi Arabia, this question is marked not applicable.
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Q44
50/100
is there a policy of refusing bribes to gain preferred postings? Are there appropriate procedures in place to deal with such bribery, and are they applied?
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The Anti-Bribery Law (1992) covers cases which result in the exchange of money for positions. There are explicit indications on recieving money but not…
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According to the law, and our sources, there are sanctions which can be more than one-year imprisonment and fines (1), (2). These sanctions include…
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According to our sources, no sanctions are applied when bribery happens, as most cases of bribery are handled and solved informally most of the…
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Salary Chain
The Saudi government does not publish details relating to its payment processes in the military or government ministries, except for occasional announcements of bonuses…
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Values and Standards
Q46
19/100
Is there a Code of Conduct for all military personnel that includes, but is not limited to, guidance with respect to bribery, gifts and hospitality, conflicts of interest, and post-separation activities? Is there evidence that breaches of the Code of Conduct are effectively addressed?
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According to our sources, Saudi Arabia does have a Code of Conduct for civilian and military personnel that prohibits bribery, the acceptance of gifts…
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According to our sources, the Code of Conduct is not always available, especially in rural areas and units outside headquarters and the main offices…
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According to our sources, the Code of Conduct is not credible, the majority of personnel do not care about it, and it has no…
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It is unclear the extent to which the government makes efforts to ensure the Code of Conduct is available to all military personnel, nor…
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Q47
38/100
Is there a Code of Conduct for all civilian personnel that includes, but is not limited to, guidance with respect to bribery, gifts and hospitality, conflicts of interest, and post-separation activities? Is there evidence that breaches of the Code of Conduct are effectively addressed?
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The website of the Saudi Ministry of Civil Service features the Code of Conduct for civilian personnel, which was approved by the Council of…
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The aforementioned Code of Conduct is published on the website of the Ministry of Civil Service. However, in August 2018, Saudi Arabia’s primary anti-corruption…
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Breaches of the Code of Conduct and related investigations are occasionally reported in the Saudi and regional press. According to our sources, a breach…
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There is no training provided on anti-corruption measures and use of the code of conduct (1), (2).
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Q48
25/100
Does regular anti-corruption training take place for military and civilian personnel?
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According to our sources within the army, there has not been any training course on anti-corruption in the last few years; however, civilian personnel…
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This sub-indicator ir not applicable because, according to our sources, there have not been any training courses on anti-corruption in the MoD or the…
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This sub-indicator ir not applicable because, according to our sources, there have not been any training courses on anti-corruption in the MoD or the…
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Q49
33/100
Is there a policy to make public outcomes of the prosecution of defence services personnel for corrupt activities, and is there evidence of effective prosecutions in recent years?
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The Saudi Anti-Corruption Law of 2007 states, authorities are obliged to publish the results of corruption cases “upon the request of the general prosecutor…
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According to our sources, the government publishes information about cases, but they do not provide detailed information about the outcome of the prosecution process…
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According to our sources, there is a lack of effectiveness in the prosecution of corruption cases. The recent crackdown on corruption is politically motivated…
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Q50
17/100
Are there effective measures in place to discourage facilitation payments (which are illegal in almost all countries)?
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According to our sources, facilitation of payments is prohibited by law, and the Code of Conduct of the military and civil personnel (1), (2).…
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There is a clear failure in investigating corruption cases of payment facilitation (1). One source claimed, “50% of procurements include facilitation payments” (2). Although…
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Traditionally, facilitation payments have been considered part and parcel in the local business environment (1), (2), (3). This includes the widespread use of middlemen…
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