On Sunday, Saudi Arabia's King Salman issued a royal decree ordering authorities to provide full protection to whistleblowers in corruption cases, according to Al Arabiya.
The head of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha), Dr. Khalid Al-Muhaisen, praised the royal order which stipulates providing adequate protection to employees who report corrupt financial and/or administrative practices to the relevant authorities.
"The employees are not to be threatened regarding job security, benefits or rights. The decree stipulates that the National Anti-Corruption Commission shall report entities that take disciplinary action against employees or threaten their rights or job benefits if they report corrupt practices to the Commission," said Dr. Al-Muhaisen, according to Reuters.
"Fully in line with Vision 2030"
Furthermore, the chairman of Nazaha said in a statement that this order reiterates that King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman "are keen on fighting corruption and protecting the interests of citizens and residents who fulfill their duties and report corruption."
"They are dedicated to ensuring that these citizens are not subjected to any harm for reporting," he added.
This is "fully in line with Vision 2030, which puts transparency, integrity and fighting corruption among its main pillars," Dr. Al-Muhaisen reemphasized.
In November 2017, King Salman ordered the launch of a Supreme Anti-Corruption Committee in Saudi Arabia as part of an active reform agenda aimed at tackling a persistent problem that has hindered development efforts in the kingdom in recent decades.
Saudi authorities have claimed that tens of billions of US dollars had been misappropriated through corruption and embezzlement, spanning several decades.
At the time, numerous high-profile businessmen including global investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal were held at Riyadh's Ritz Carlton Hotel and later released after reaching financial settlements - believed to be a grand total of around $100 billion.
Globally, Saudi Arabia is ranked 62nd out of 176 countries in terms of corruption
The World Bank's latest corruption-control indicator reflected significant progress in Saudi Arabia's recent anti-corruption campaign.
Nazaha said in October that the kingdom had improved its score by 18 points in the 2016 indicator, its biggest leap since entering the World Bank indicator report in 1996.
According to the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of 2016, issued by Transparency International, Saudi Arabia is ranked 62nd out of 176 countries.