20 years imprisonment and fines of 500,000 riyals for money laundering suspects in Saudi Arabia

An official source in the Saudi Public Prosecution announced that the investigations of the Economic Crimes Prosecution have concluded that 5 people (a Saudi and 4 expatriates of Arab nationalities) have been charged with money laundering.

The investigation procedures revealed that the Saudi had opened 3 commercial entities and empowered expatriates from them, and opened bank accounts for those entities and handed them over to expatriates and enabled them to dispose of them without restrictions in exchange for a small monthly wage.

By searching and investigating the bank accounts of the accused and the commercial entities, it was found that the expatriates practiced the behavior of collecting money, depositing it in the accounts of the commercial entities and transferring it outside the Kingdom, and by verifying the source of the funds, it was found that they resulted from crimes and violations of a number of regulations.

The accused were arrested and prosecuted before the competent court, and evidence of their accusation was presented, and the judicial ruling was issued containing their conviction of what was attributed to them, and sentencing them to imprisonment for a period of 20 years, and financial fines amounting to 500 thousand riyals, and the confiscation of a similar value for the money on which the crime was committed, and the deportation of expatriates from the country. After the end of their sentences, commercial entities are permanently banned from practicing commercial activity.

The source emphasized that criminal justice bestowed high protection on economic transactions, and prohibited all behavior that would harm the economic security of the country, under severe criminal accountability. The matter is subject to criminal accountability.