JEDDAH – The Ministry of Justice has instructed all courts and public notaries to inform it of any suspicions of money laundering and financing of terrorism they may have during real estate sale and purchase procedures.

A circular from the ministry told these bodies to ensure that checks are used in land and sale purchases, and also asked law firms to inform the ministry of any similar suspicions.

The ministry has previously taken a range of academic and practical steps to tackle terror financing and money laundering on a continual basis, drawing on the public and private sectors for its internal programs for academic and research specialists to instruct in money laundering and terrorist financing, the traditional and more modern methods by which they are conducted, and international regulations on tackling them.

Programs also look at Saudi laws on combating money laundering and the nature of admissible evidence and issues arising from it, such as the burden of proof being placed on the accused.The Kingdom has achieved the highest commitment levels to FATF’s 40 recommendations for combating money laundering and its nine recommendations for fighting terrorist financing, according to a report by FATF and MENA-FATF.

The report placed Saudi Arabia first in the Arab world and among the top 10 of G20 countries.

The Kingdom was awarded those ranks at a meeting of the international institution in Amsterdam last month, based on a report approved by the Middle East group.

FATF – the Financial Action Task Force - is an inter-governmental body that develops and promotes national and international policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, with MENA-FATF its regional body for the Middle East and North Africa. – Okaz/SG