A money laundering offence shall be deemed a separate offence from the predicate offense. A conviction for the predicate offense shall not be necessary for a conviction for money laundering or to establish that funds are proceeds of crime, whether the predicate offense was committed inside or outside Saudi Arabia. The intent, knowledge, or purpose of committing the money laundering offence shall be inferred from objective factual circumstances of the case. Anyone who commits any of the following acts shall be considered to have committed a money laundering offence:
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| | 1. | Transfer, transportation, or performing of any transaction with funds while knowing that they are proceeds of crime in order to conceal or disguise the illegitimate origin of those funds or to assist a person involved in the predicate offense that generated those funds to evade the consequences of committing such crime.
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| | 2. | Acquiring, possession or use of funds with the knowledge that they are proceeds of crime or from an illegal source.
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| | 3. | Concealment or disguise of the nature, source, movement, ownership, place, manner of disposition of, or rights associated with funds that the person knows are proceeds of crime.
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| | 4. | The attempt to commit any of the acts stated in Paragraphs (1, 2 and 3) above or participation in those acts by means of agreement, assistance, incitement, counseling, advice, facilitation, collusion, plotting, or concealment.
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A legal person shall be considered to have committed a money laundering offence if any of the acts mentioned above was committed in its name or for its account. Criminal liability of a legal person shall not exclude the criminal liability of its chairpersons, members of its boards of directors, its owners, employees, authorized representatives, auditors, or any other natural person who acts in its name or for its account.
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There are usually three stages of money laundering, explained as follows:
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| | 1. | Depositing or Placement: In this stage, illegally obtained funds are introduced into the financial system, with the aim of depositing cash resulting from illegal activities into the financial system in a manner that does not attract attention. This is usually achieved through financial institutions when a customer or a person acting on their behalf engages in any of the financial activities and transactions, including acceptance of cash deposits, currency exchange, purchase of shares, and conclusion of finance contracts or protection and/or savings insurance contracts, without taking sufficient preventive measures by the financial institution to protect itself from money laundering risks.
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| | 2. | Layering: It is the stage in which funds are transferred and moved with the purpose of concealing their origin. The aim is to disguise the illegal source of the funds introduced into the financial system. This stage may involve sending wire transfers to other financial institutions, purchase and sale of investments and financial instruments, cancellation of finance contracts or protection and/or savings insurance policies during the free look period2, fraudulent investments, or business schemes.
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| | 3. | Integration: In this stage, funds are brought into the economy again so that it becomes difficult to distinguish them from funds of legitimate origin. The aim is to legitimize illegal funds and integrate them into the domestic or global economy, through the purchase of financial assets, shares, or luxury goods or the investment in real estate.
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