King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has approved new measures on combating money laundering and terrorism financing. According to the amendments, lawyers will play a pivotal role in following up and suspending financial transactions with organizations that are classified by the UN Security Council. Lawyers will have to report suspicious financial transactions to the unit of financial investigations, the Minister of Justice, Dr. Muhammad Bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, explained while announcing the King's approval. The team in charge of money laundering and terrorism financing at the Justice Ministry has completed all necessary monitoring procedures with countries that do not properly implement the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Al-Issa said. The new amendments will protect 2,500 licensed Saudi lawyers. The amendments call upon lawyers to be careful when dealing with corporate bodies and other financial institutions in countries that have a poor track record of enacting FATF recommendations. Lawyers said the new rules will enhance and protect trust and prevent operations of terrorism financing. They would bring any suspicious financial transaction to the attention of concerned authorities. Saleh Mesfer Al-Ghamdi, a lawyer, legal consultant and former member of the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution, said these rules call upon lawyers to be careful in their dealings with corporate bodies and financial institutions. The rules will prevent any criminal activity or suspicious financial transactions, said Saad Al-Malki, a lawyer and legal consultant. He said lawyers will be able to detect any suspicious transactions. __
