year imprisonment and/or a fine not exceeding SR1million await those charged with involvement in tasattur activities – an illegal understanding whereby Saudis permit non-Saudis to manage business in their name in exchange for a share in the profit, according to the Commerce Ministry's anti-tasattur draft law. The Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution (BIP) has been given the jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute violators, and the Board of Grievances can review and decide on breaches of anti-tasattur provisions. The Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution may ban any person from travel found to be implicated in an act of tasattur until the final verdict has been issued. If convicted, a non-Saudi violator will be deported when he finishes his sentence and pays fines and other fees. He will not be allowed to return to the Kingdom for work in the future. Those Saudis convicted will have their registration certificates and licenses revoked and their businesses liquidated. They will also be barred from engaging in the same business activity for a period not exceeding five years. The Ministry of Commerce is also offering financial incentives to those who help combat tasattur activities. The anti-tasattur draft law stipulates that the authority which issues business licenses will monitor these commercial activities to ensure that they are in compliance with regulations. All tasattur violations shall be reported to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Once approved, the draft law will supersede the existing anti-tasattur law issued by Royal Decree number (49/m) on 21/05/1989. It will be published in the official Gazette and enforced after 180 days of its publication. There are 200,000 illegal tasattur businesses, having total assets worth about SR4.1 trillion and employing 4.8 million people, according to statistics from a 2009 study commissioned by the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI). The study showed that Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam have more than 85 percent of these tasattur or “cover
