Saudi authorities have convicted six suspects in money laundering cases, an official source at the Public Prosecution announced on Sunday.
Judicial verdicts were issued against the six, sentencing them to 31 years in jail and slapping them with fines, amounting to more than SR152 million.
The fines represent the equivalent value of illegal funds that the convicts smuggled outside the Kingdom. The court rulings also included a travel ban on the convicted citizens for a period equal to their jail terms and the deportation of the expatriate convicts after serving their prison term.
Some citizens, who are owners of commercial entities such as furniture upholstery and flower business as well as fake establishments, and several expatriates were involved in money laundering transactions.
The Public Prosecution source said that the investigations had proved that these citizens allowed the expatriates to use their bank accounts, in return for a monthly fee of SR10,000, to be a cover in transferring their illegal funds to outside the Kingdom. The transactions were made under the pretext of practicing bogus commercial activities that are considered a criminal act according to article two of the Anti-Money Laundering Law.
The source noted that the Public Prosecution has been exerting concerted efforts, in coordination with the relevant government bodies and agencies, such as the Ministry of Commerce, the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, and the Saudi Central Bank, to achieve the desired results in combating all money-related crimes.
It also stressed that the Public Prosecution would lay down severe penalties against those involved in activities that are harmful to the Kingdom’s financial and economic security.
