RIYADH – In a flagrant violation of the Ministry of Labor's coverup or tasattur law, 25 gold stores at Taiba Mall, north Riyadh, reopened a day after being shut down during a raid by the Anti-Tassatur Department of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI), an Arabic daily reported. All foreign workers arrested in the raid returned to work the next day. The owners of these stores reopened them in a clear defiance of the law which aims to put an end to tasattur businesses in which Saudi nationals permit foreigners to manage businesses in their names in return for a stake in the profits. According to an earlier report in the Saudi Gazette, coverup businesses “have virtually a complete monopoly on the retail sector. " Citizen Abdul Al-Sehli called on concerned authorities to step in and put an end to the practice. He also said foreign workers hold a monopoly on gold stores and force Saudis out of their jobs by paying three times the normal rent to store owners. Muhammad Al-Samani said money laundering operations are conducted on a daily basis. “The stores run by these foreign workers sell millions worth of gold every day but not a single riyal is deposited in Saudi banks," Al-Samani said. Meanwhile, owners also complained about foreign workers carrying large amounts of cash hanging outside their shops. The owners said the workers wait for customers to leave the shop and try to convince them to sell the gold they have. “The foreign workers offer double the amount the customer paid to buy the gold and do not make a distinction between the type of gold or whether it was stolen or not, and do not request to see receipts or identification cards either," said a shop owner on condition of anonymity. “Over the past three months, these workers have opened more than 30 gold and silver shops without official permits," he claimed. “Some of them transfer money to Dubai under the pretext of using the money to buy gold and jewelry; but the fact is, they buy Toyota Land Cruisers and send them to their country."
