Strict Monitoring of Expat Bank Accounts – SAMA

Monitoring of Expatriate Bank Accounts

All Saudi Arabian banks will shortly begin monitoring all accounts belonging to foreigners who have deposits that are not in line with their known or stated income sources.

According to new guidelines released by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), all banks will be required to notify the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of any deposits that do not equal or exceed the account holder’s salaries and/or other sources of income.

The source of income must be declared to banks

All sources of income must be completely declared to the banks and other relevant authorities.. Failure to do so might result in serious legal implications, including the seizure of undeclared money by the authorities or, in extreme situations, deportation.

The new measure by SAMA is in line with the Ministry of Labor’s efforts to curtail certain of the commercial activities carried out by expatriates, which are more generally known as tasattur.

Don’t accept a bank deposit on behalf of others

It is critical for everyone to take this issue seriously. We should never accept a deposit on behalf of someone into our bank account. Friends and family members occasionally ask us to accept money on their behalf.

The problem is that you don’t know who you received the money from, and you wouldn’t be able to defend the deposit in your bank account if you were questioned.

Source: Al Arabiya