RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet has approved amendments to the anti-money laundering law, including new provisions imposing travel bans on convicted offenders and expanding asset confiscation measures.
Under the updated Article 28, Saudi nationals sentenced to prison for money laundering will be banned from traveling abroad for a period equal to their prison term.
Non-Saudi offenders will be deported after serving their sentence and barred from re-entering the Kingdom, except for Hajj or Umrah in accordance with regulations.
The amendments also reinforce financial penalties. Article 33 stipulates that courts must order the confiscation of laundered funds, proceeds, and related assets upon conviction. If illicit funds are mixed with legitimate assets, an equivalent value will be seized.
Courts may also confiscate other assets belonging to the offender that are disproportionate to their legitimate income if proven to be derived from criminal activity, unless lawful origin is established.
The updated provisions allow courts to confiscate assets regardless of whether they are held by the offender or a third party, provided it is proven they are linked to the crime. However, assets will not be seized if the owner can demonstrate they were acquired in good faith and for fair value.
Courts are also empowered to invalidate or suspend transactions or activities that could hinder authorities from recovering assets subject to confiscation.
A new Article 49 bis assigns the Permanent Committee for Combating Money Laundering the responsibility of developing and updating risk-based national policies, assessing threats — including those linked to high-risk countries — and aligning with international standards. The Saudi Central Bank governor will issue the committee’s internal regulations.
The amendments also include the removal of the term “non-profit organizations” from several articles of the law.
Source: Saudi Gazette