Anti-bribery and Corruption

Anti-bribery and Corruption

In line with Vision 2030’s goals, anti-bribery and corruption measures have received increased focus in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, leading to a range of regulatory measures aimed at targeting risks of corruption.

At the forefront of these measures is the new Government Tenders and Procurement Law, which came into force in July 2019. Whereas the previous law had equally provided for strong anti-corruption measures, the new law comes coupled with detailed regulations covering Code of Conduct and Conflict of Interest, focusing heavily on preventing the risk of corruption within government procurement.

Z&Co.’s Government Advisory team of lawyers drafted and negotiated both regulations at the Bureau of Experts within the Council of Ministers, giving us unique insight into the reasoning and justifications behind the measures included within these regulations.

Additionally, our Government Advisory team was involved in advising on the new Privileged Iqama law, issued in May 2019, which also targets anti-corruption measures. Providing a means by which foreign individual investors can reside permanently in the KSA without the need for a Saudi sponsor, the new privileged Iqama law seeks to address the numbers of individual investors acting under the cover of a sham employment arrangement as a means to circumvent Foreign Investor licensing requirements.
Our legal team regularly advises international investors on the anti-bribery framework in the KSA, as regulated particularly by the Anti-Bribery Law, the Civil Service Law, and other regulatory instruments governing gifts to public officials.