RIYADH, 7 February — The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) yesterday denied press reports that it was monitoring the bank accounts of important individuals or private establishments and emphasized that such private accounts enjoyed full protection under the Kingdom’s rules and regulations.
SAMA was responding to a report carried by the Wall Street Journal which said the agency was monitoring accounts of a number of important personalities and private establishments. "There is no truth in this report," an official source at the SAMA told the Saudi Press Agency.
However, the official said the Kingdom would continue to cooperate with international efforts to fight terrorism and money laundering by implementing the UN Security Council Resolutions. "The measures we have already taken are related to the names approved by the Security Council," he said.
Referring to the Security Council resolution that deals with more than 150 names and agencies, the official said most of them are foreign and more than 97 percent of them have no accounts or dealings with Saudi banks.
"We have frozen only four accounts" in the light of the UN resolution, the official pointed out.
"Saudi banks are not allowed to provide any information on bank dealings or accounts to official or non-official agencies, be they inside or outside the country, except through the SAMA," the official said. "This is to provide legal protection and ensure secrecy of such personal information," it added. The firms mentioned in the Wall Street Journal report are among the top 100 Saudi companies, which enjoy a high reputation in the Kingdom. They are headed by businessmen of the highest integrity and have contributed immensely to the development of Saudi Arabia as a modern nation.
Some of the businessmen Arab News spoke to reacted angrily to the Wall Street Journal report and have blasted US authorities for carrying out a witch hunt against them. One likened the move to a kind of terrorism, saying that US authorities were merely satisfying their urge for revenge. "They are out to wreck the economies of the Gulf states," he added.
"The United States is indulging in selective terrorism," one prominent South African businessman remarked, adding that Gulf governments and their monetary agencies and banking institutions should join hands in fighting the menace. And he wondered why it was only Islamic charities that were being targeted.
