SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi, expat jailed for money laundering

November 24, 2018

Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH
— The Ministry of Commerce and Investment (MCI) has defamed a Saudi citizen and an expat of Asian origin in Riyadh after a court convicted them of commercial concealment and money laundering.

It has been proved that the citizen has been enabling the expat to work on his own account in the telecommunications sector, buying and selling mobile phones and mobile recharge cards.

The expat was using the citizen’s commercial registration and bank accounts to run the business.

The Criminal Court in Riyadh imposed a fine of SR400,000 on both the citizen and the expatriate, in addition to sentencing the Saudi to 11 months in prison and the expat to two years› imprisonment.

There will be a two-year travel ban on the Saudi upon his release from prison. His commercial registration has been revoked and he will not be allowed to practice the same trading activity in the future.

The expatriate will be blacklisted and deported from the Kingdom after his release from prison.

The court also ordered the publication of the ruling in a local newspaper at the expense of the violators. The ministry stepped in after it grew suspicious of money laundering activity under the cover of the telecom establishment.

Investigations revealed that the volume of financial transactions through the bank accounts of the establishment was very large and surpassed the size of its trade activity.

The bank accounts had cash deposits, internal transfers by individuals of different nationalities, and remittances from institutions having various trade activities. During questioning, the expat admitted to running the business on his own account. The expat gave the citizen SR1,500 a month for the use of his CR while making SR4,500 in profits. Accordingly, both the citizen and the expat were taken to the court on charges of commercial concealment and money laundering.

Workshop owner penalized

The ministry has meanwhile defamed the owner of an auto workshop in Al-Aziziyah neighborhood of Makkah after a court convicted him of possessing and selling used car tires, as well as lubricants not conforming to standard specifications.

The verdict issued by the Criminal Court in Makkah included a fine, the closure of the workshop, confiscation and destruction of the seized quantities of tires and lubricants, in addition to publishing the court ruling against the violator in two local newspapers at his expense.


November 24, 2018
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