RIYADH — Saudi Arabia's Public Prosecution announced that it had confiscated more than SR140 million from 4 accused in a money laundering case. The Public Prosecution said that the accused, one citizen and three expatriates, were investigated and were found to have colluded to transfer illegal funds outside the Kingdom. It has been proven that the citizen had agreed with the expatriates to enable them to hack the bank accounts of his own commerce in order to transfer illegal funds outside the Kingdom. The expatriates agreed to do this in return for a monthly amount of SR30,000 promised by the citizen. The Public Prosecution also recovered illegal funds smuggled abroad, which amounted to more than SR140 million, and other illegal funds that were found hidden inside a hot drinks case amounting to SR2.5 million. The judicial ruling was issued convicting the accused and imprisoning them for 24 years, in addition to preventing the citizen from traveling for a period similar to his imprisonment, and deporting the expatriates after completing their prison term. The Public Prosecution confirmed that the accused are considered criminals according to Article 2 of the Anti-Money Laundering Law. The Public Prosecution warned that it would not hesitate to demand severe penalties against anyone who harms the financial and economic security of the Kingdom. It reiterated that coordination takes place between the Public Prosecution and the Monitoring Agencies represented by the Ministry of Commerce, the General Authority for Zakat, Tax and Customs, and the Saudi Central Bank, to investigate all money-related crimes.
