Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — The General Court in Jeddah reviewed 53 money laundering cases in the past two years, placing the city at the forefront of other Saudi cities in the number of such cases, Al-Watan daily reported. The court dealt with 22 cases filed against citizens and 31 cases against expatriates. Some cases involved money transfers of more than SR3 million from unknown sources. The cases also involved legalizing financial transactions, administrative abuse, violating procedures, profiting from a public post, embezzling citizens and collecting money through unlawful means. The Supreme Council of Scholars issued a directive five months ago to transfer money laundering cases to criminals court and judicial sources said this directive has expedited the review of such cases. Dr. Wahei Luqman, law professor at King Abdulaziz University, said money laundering is a crime punishable under Saudi law, as it is one of the most dangerous crimes and has negative effects on the economy. “The sources of such money are drugs, terrorism, corruption and companies that try to accomplish financial gains without any effort,” she said. She noted that some companies hide their activities behind some legal projects to justify their gains as completely legal and this is considered money laundering. Luqman explained that money laundering crimes are punishable by a fine of no less than the amounts in question but not less than SR100,000, or a two-year prison sentence and a fine of not more than SR50,000. She stressed that the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution (BIP) is entrusted in dealing with such crimes and have the authority to investigate all financial and non-financial firms or non-profitable organizations, if it believes that unlawful activities were conducted in any of these bodies. Legal consultant Rayyan Mufti said that transferring money laundering cases to criminal courts has expedited trials and investigations, which is in the public's interest. He explained that money laundering cases deal with transfers of huge amounts of money from unknown sources, purchasing properties for unrealistic amounts and purchases of camels for amounts that reach as much as SR20 million. He pointed out that there is a special department in the Ministry of Interior that monitors and investigates such cases and refers them to the BIP.
