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Saudi Arabia Adopts Urgent Measures to Combat Financial Fraud

The Kingdom has witnessed an increase in financial fraud, due to the rapid development of financial services. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Kingdom has witnessed an increase in financial fraud, due to the rapid development of financial services. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Adopts Urgent Measures to Combat Financial Fraud

The Kingdom has witnessed an increase in financial fraud, due to the rapid development of financial services. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Kingdom has witnessed an increase in financial fraud, due to the rapid development of financial services. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced on Friday the implementation of urgent temporary precautionary measures to combat financial fraud.

According to a circular issued by SAMA, banks operating in Saudi Arabia must adhere to a number of measures, including setting limits on daily electronic transfers and holding international transfers for 24 hours.

The Central Bank said that its steps came in line with powers entrusted to it to set instructions and procedures to protect bank customers, and take appropriate measures to counter financial criminal activity.

The Kingdom has witnessed an increase in fraud, due to the rapid development of financial services provided by banks through traditional and electronic channels, according to the circular issued by SAMA.

A recent meeting of The Financial Academy in Riyadh, held under the title, “Innovation and the future of investment in the banking sector,” pointed to the challenges faced by the Saudi banking sector in light of the rapid digital transformation.

CEO of Riyad Bank, Tariq Al-Sadhan, noted that the increasing risks of financial fraud constituted one of the biggest challenges facing banks in Saudi Arabia.

A recent scientific study prepared by the Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, in cooperation with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), in early 2022, emphasized five types of financial fraud that are common in the Arab world.

The study analyzed 503 fraudulent internet advertisements, which attracted more than 137,000 potential victims.

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Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
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Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)

The United States on Thursday called on Israel to extend its cooperation with Palestinian banks for another year, to avoid blocking vital transactions in the occupied West Bank.

"I am glad that Israel has allowed its banks to continue cooperating with Palestinian banks, but I remain convinced that a one-year extension of the waiver to facilitate this cooperation is needed," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday, on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Rio de Janeiro.

In May, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to cut off a vital banking channel between Israel and the West Bank in response to three European countries recognizing the State of Palestine.

On June 30, however, Smotrich extended a waiver that allows cooperation between Israel's banking system and Palestinian banks in the occupied West Bank for four months, according to Israeli media, according to AFP.

The Times of Israel newspaper reported that the decision on the waiver was made at a cabinet meeting in a "move that saw Israel legalize several West Bank settlement outposts."

The waiver was due to expire at the end of June, and the extension permitted Israeli banks to process payments for salaries and services to the Palestinian Authority in shekels, averting a blow to a Palestinian economy already devastated by the war in Gaza.

The Israeli threat raised serious concerns in the United States, which said at the time it feared "a humanitarian crisis" if banking ties were cut.

According to Washington, these banking channels are key to nearly $8 billion of imports from Israel to the West Bank, including electricity, water, fuel and food.