Article 22 of the Saudi Anti-Corruption Authority Law

This article governs financial settlements in corruption crimes. Its provisions are:

• Permissibility: "the Authority may", meaning that settlement is a discretionary power of the Authority and not an absolute right of whoever requests it.
• Who is covered: those who committed corruption crimes, whether natural persons (individuals) or legal persons (companies and entities).
• Condition of initiative: that they have taken the initiative to submit requests for settlement. The article speaks of those who took the initiative to request it.
• Rules: settlement takes place under rules that include:
  • a classification of the categories covered by settlements.
  • the related procedures.
• Issuing the rules: they are prepared by the Authority and issued by royal order.

The article does not state the amount of the settlement, its effect on the criminal case, or precisely which categories are covered. All of these are left to the rules issued by royal order and must not be assumed from this text.

The article is linked to Article 21, which allows the President of the Authority to propose the dismissal of a public employee by royal order where an investigation yields strong suspicions affecting the dignity of the post or integrity, and to Article 23, which provides that this Law repeals anything that conflicts with it in other provisions.

Because the decision to request a settlement has significant consequences, a person considering it should consider consulting a lawyer who specializes in criminal cases before submitting the request.