526 suspicious cases referred to concerned authorities By Mansour Al-Shihri Okaz/Saudi Gazette RIYADH — A special Financial Intelligence Unit has been set up to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The unit which is part of the Security and Drug Control Department of the Ministry of Interior operates under the direct supervision of Prince Muhammad Bin Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Interior. The unit has already received 1,386 reports about suspicious operations of money laundering and financing terrorism. The unit cooperates with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) and other banks so they can counter any wrongdoers attempting to take advantage of financial systems. A source revealed that the unit has referred about 526 cases of suspicious financial transactions linked to money laundering and the financing of terrorism to the authorities concerned. “The unit receives reports on suspicious financial transactions, analyzes them in depth and recommends action. It also has a database in which it saves all reports it receives besides exchanging information with authorities within and outside the Kingdom in order to fight and combat this menace,” the source said. The creation of the unit is seen as a significant step in controlling charitable funds, preventing money laundering, and improving multilateral cooperation. Apart from this, a permanent committee of representatives of government agencies has been established to manage legal and other issues related to money laundering. The Kingdom has recently issued new regulations to prevent money laundering. These include prohibiting Saudi banks from opening bank accounts for non–resident individuals without getting specific approval from SAMA. __
