CMA fines former Saudi German Health officials SR18 million over financial statement manipulation

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority announced the issuance of a final ruling against 11 former board and audit committee members of Middle East Healthcare Company over violations related to manipulation of the company’s financial statements between 2018 and 2021.The ruling was issued by the Appeal Committee for the Resolution of Securities Disputes and included collective fines totaling nearly SR18 million, along with work bans for several of the convicted individuals.According to the CMA, the violations involved breaching Article 49(a) of the Capital Market Law and Article 7 of the Market Conduct Regulations through inflating the company’s revenues and creating misleading financial disclosures.The authority said the defendants acknowledged revenues totaling SR358 million despite being aware of the low probability of collecting those amounts, resulting in inaccurate financial statements covering the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2018, through the financial period ending Sept. 30, 2021.The CMA said the manipulated figures affected the company’s assets, inflated revenues and presented misleading financial information to investors and the market.Those convicted include former board and audit committee members Subhi Abduljalil Ibrahim Battrajee, Makarem Subhi Abduljalil Battrajee, Sultan Subhi Abduljalil Battrajee, Khalid Abduljalil Ibrahim Battrajee, Muhammad Abdulrahman Muhammad Mu’menah, Ahmad Muhammad Khalid Abdulrazzaq Aldahlawi, Ali Abdulrahman Abdullah Alquwaiz, Amr Muhammad Khalid Khashoggi, Muhammad Mustafa bin Muhammad Omar bin Siddiq, Walid Abdulaziz Abbas Ahmad Saleh Kayyal and Saleh Ahmad Ali Hafni.The ruling imposed a SR3.1 million fine on Makarem Battrajee.Fines of SR2.1 million each were imposed on Subhi Battrajee, Sultan Battrajee, Khalid Battrajee and Muhammad Mu’menah.Ahmad Aldahlawi was fined SR1.98 million, Ali Alquwaiz SR1.08 million and Amr Khashoggi SR1.6 million.The three individuals were also banned from working in entities supervised by the CMA for one year.Additional fines included SR500,000 against Muhammad bin Siddiq, SR580,000 against Walid Kayyal and SR680,000 against Saleh Hafni, alongside six-month bans from working in CMA-regulated entities.The CMA said the final ruling followed coordination with relevant authorities and a public criminal lawsuit filed by the Public Prosecution after the case was referred by the authority in March 2024.The regulator stressed that protecting investor confidence remains essential for the growth and stability of Saudi Arabia’s capital market and reaffirmed its commitment to combating fraud, manipulation and misleading practices.The General Secretariat of the Committees for Resolution of Securities Disputes also said affected investors are entitled to file compensation claims individually or collectively after first submitting complaints to the CMA.