RIYADH: An expatriate who was managing a dental laboratory in Riyadh has been arrested for violating the Anti-Commercial Concealment Law of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI).

During an inspection conducted by the MCI following a local “tip-off,” the expatriate (who is of an Arab origin) was found to be in possession of a number of documents and other kinds of physical evidence that proved his involvement in commercial concealment activities. Specifically, the suspect was found to have been exploiting the trading name and commercial registration of a citizen in the dental industry, while giving a regular percentage of his profits to the citizen for this service.

The involved parties have been summoned to the MCI for further inquiry, as per the Anti-Commercial Concealment Act. Under this law, the offender is liable to two years imprisonment and a maximum fine of SR1 million, as well as deportation if offender is an expatriate. Following the inquiry, the case will be referred to the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution and will subsequently be referred to the Bureau of Grievances for a final judgment on the matter.

It is therefore expected that the citizen associated with the expat's illegal activities will be blacklisted, with his name publicized in the daily newspapers. Further, the man's business registration will be cancelled for a period of five years.

In light of the issue, the MCI recently released a statement warning all companies, commercial institutions and individuals not to cooperate with violators of commercial rules and regulations in the Kingdom, as such violations invariably lead to serious legal and statutory penalties.

The MCI also urged all citizens to report cases of Anti-Commercial Concealment with relevant evidence to authorities, adding that there is the opportunity for them to be rewarded for their honesty in the form of cash amounting to a maximum of 30 percent of the fines imposed on the violators.