JEDDAH, 10 October — Saudi authorities, stepping up efforts to curb money laundering following last month’s attacks on the United States, have issued detailed instructions on suspicious business dealings and financial transactions.
In a circular issued last week to chambers of commerce, the Ministry of Commerce ordered strict monitoring of sizeable transactions and required financial bodies to report any dubious cases to the authorities.
The circular said the regulations complement previous measures by the Cabinet to fight money laundering and other illegal business activities.
The move came after the central bank ordered the Kingdom’s 10 commercial banks last month to check if they had dealings with groups or individuals suspected by the United States of having ties to Osama Bin Laden, named by Washington as the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks.
US President George W. Bush had signed an order freezing Bin Laden’s assets. Washington also listed 27 charity organizations and individuals which it believes may be associated with Bin Laden.
The ministry’s circular advised authorities to watch transactions closely and report those involving large sums of money where payments are made in cash, unusual purchases of jewelry or rare artifacts or when the names of Saudi citizens are used in business deals outside their normal domain.
It also ordered financial institutions to keep records of business and financial transactions for no less than 10 years and to inspect identity documents of individuals and institutions involved in these transactions.
The Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry has postponed a conference on money laundering which was to be held in Riyadh on Monday.
The council had to postpone the event as several participants said they were unable to attend it in the aftermath of the terror attacks in the US and subsequent international developments.
The council is striving to set a new date for the seminar in coordination with the participants, said Osama Kurdi, secretary-general of the council.
