Saudi and two expats arrested for fraud, money laundering

A Saudi businessman and two expats were handed a sentence of more than 16 years after they were convicted of money laundering and business licensing fraud, a court ruled.

The trio was also fined SR168,000. An additional SR739,990,495 was confiscated, the court ruled. A legal action was also ordered to track funds smuggled abroad, the court ruled.

Saudi Arabia has tightened penalties for business licensing fraud, known as Tasattur or cover-ups, in which a foreign national owns a business in the name of a Saudi citizen.

The new anti-business licensing fraud regime seeks to eliminate the shadow economy and includes tough penalties for offenders of up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to SR5 million.

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