IX. International Cooperation
Article 38
Competent authorities may exchange information with and make inquiries or investigation on behalf of foreign counterparts in countries that are signatories with the Kingdom to valid agreements, , or on the basis of reciprocity. This shall be done pursuant to applicable statutory procedures, without prejudice to the national sovereignty of the country or provisions and customs related to confidentiality of information. 38/1
The Public Prosecution may exchange domestically available or accessible information with foreign counterparts for intelligence or investigative purposes relating to money laundering and associated predicate offenses, including for purpose of identifying, tracing or securing proceeds of crime or instrumentalities. The Public Prosecution may use all of its powers available in a domestic case also to conduct inquiries and obtain information on behalf of a foreign counterpart.
38/2
Criminal investigating officers, each within their own purview, in coordination with competent authorities may exchange domestically available or accessible information with foreign counterparts for intelligence or investigative purposes relating to money laundering and associated predicate offenses, including for purpose of identifying, tracing or securing proceeds of crime or instrumentalities. Criminal investigating officers may use their powers available in a domestic case also to conduct inquiries and obtain information on behalf of a foreign counterpart; and may form joint intelligence teams to conduct cooperative intelligence, or establish bilateral or multilateral arrangements to enable such joint intelligence.
Article 39
Upon request of a competent court or authority in another country which is a signatory with the Kingdom to a valid agreement or on the basis of reciprocity, the competent authority may provide mutual legal assistance in relation to money laundering and predicate offense investigations and prosecutions and procedures, including but not limited to assistance with the tracing, seizure, recovery and confiscation of funds, or proceeds of crime or Instrumentalities related to the Money Laundering Crimes or predict offences, or the controlled delivery, according to laws in force in the Kingdom. The Implementing Regulation shall further prescribe the types of assistance that may be granted, and conditions that must be agreed by requesting country, and the procedures that must be applied. 39/1
The competent authority, including the judicial authority, through the Permanent Committee on Mutual Legal Assistance, may provide mutual legal assistance to a foreign country in any investigation, prosecution or judicial proceeding relating to:
a. a money laundering or predicate offence; b. the determination of whether funds are proceeds of crime or instrumentalities of crime and the tracing of such funds; c. a possible confiscation order, whether or not based on an underlying criminal conviction; or d. the freezing or seizure of proceeds of crime or instrumentalities.
39/2
The competent authorities provide all available power given to implement the following types of mutual legal assistance may be provided:
A. Providing information, documents, or evidence, including the financial records from financial institutions, designated non-financial business profession, NPOs, or any other person. B. The hearing of statements of persons, including hearing statements of person present inside the KSA that could not be present on the territories of a requesting State, with utilization of live visual telecommunication. The hearing shall be agreed upon with a judicial authority of the requesting country in the presence of a judicial authority of the Kingdom. The costs shall be borne by the requesting country unless otherwise. C. The full range of powers and techniques, including controlled delivery, covert operations, communication interception and access to automated systems. D. Informing related person on the judicial papers and documents, including documents related to testimony. E. Inspecting, seizing, and arresting procedures. F. Examining objects and visiting sites. G. Providing information. H. Seeking the help of specialists. I. Locating sites, persons connected with the crime and their identities J. Providing the original of documents, records, and government papers received from financial institutions, any party, or other companies from the private sector or other ratified pictures of it. K. Identifying and tracing the funds subjected to confiscation or that might be confiscated. L. Seizing funds in the context of confiscating-based procedures with conviction or without conviction. M. Facilitating the voluntary appearance of persons in the requesting countries. N. Inform the relevant authority with judicial document.
And any other forms of legal assistance that does not contradict with the internal laws of the Kingdom.
39/3
If a foreign country requests a form of assistance not specifically mentioned in this subsection but available under Saudi law for domestic criminal matters, the judicial authority may provide the assistance sought to the same extent and under the same conditions as would be available to competent authorities in a domestic criminal matter.
39/4
Mutual legal assistance may not be refused solely on the grounds that the offense is considered to involve fiscal matters, or based on secrecy or confidentiality provisions.
39/5
Where a request for mutual legal assistance involves non-coercive measures, such assistance may be provided also in the absence of dual criminality. In all other instances, dual criminality is required for mutual legal assistance to be rendered.
39/6
The legal assistance application shall include as much information as possible to facilitate the implementation process, including:
1. The legal document based on which the application is submitted. 2. Determination of the authority responsible for investigations, prosecutions or proceedings related to the application, communication channels with all the persons able to respond to the inquiries related to the application and description of the criminal incident, its conditions and circumstances. 3. Description of the required assistance and the measures to be taken, as well as all the requirements that the applying State wishes to meet. 4. If the application is related to the inspection of a place, attachment or confiscation of assets, it shall include a precise description thereof, including providing the widest range of accurate information on the targeted funds, such as the type, amount, and location, as well as the owner of the funds, provide the available information, such as the account number, the securities number, or the real estate number and the car. 5. Determination of the required time for the application shall be implemented, if necessary. 6. A certified copy of the judicial order or judgment rendered by the competent Court shall be submitted when necessary. 7. Enclosing a written undertaking by the applying State to preserve the confidentiality of information or evidence provided upon implementation of the application, and that the submitted information or evidence will not be used for other than the purposes stated in the application, unless prior approval is obtained from the Committee. 8. The applying State shall submit any additional information or documents that the Committee deems necessary to implement the application or facilitate the implementation thereof.
39/7
The Competent authorities may undertake the following:
A. Coordinating and understanding with the competent authorities of the country concerned to allow the proper use of the method of controlled delivery of funds across the Kingdom to expose persons involved in the commission of crimes and their contributors, subject to the provisions of the laws, regulations and instructions in force in the Kingdom. B. Applications for the controlled delivery of funds must be in writing, and the competent authorities in the Kingdom shall take the decisions to respond to them on a case-by-case basis. The requesting country shall include the willingness to provide assistance to the Kingdom in such a request as may be required. C. It may be agreed with the interested parties of other States to inspect and verify the consignments agreed upon for the controlled delivery and then allow them to proceed. D. In the controlled delivery and after agreement with the parties concerned in other country, the agreed funds may be exchanged for similar materials for fear of leakage during transport.
Article 40
A final judgment providing for the confiscation of funds, proceeds or instrumentalities related to a money laundering or predicate offense issued by a competent court in another country which is a signatory to a valid agreement with the Kingdom or on the basis of reciprocity, may be acknowledged and enforced in the Kingdom if the funds, proceeds or instrumentalities subject of the judgment can be confiscated, in accordance with laws applicable in the Kingdom. 40/1
Requests for the execution of foreign confiscation orders or rulings, issued by the competent authority or court in the requested country, shall be executed according to the competent law of the kingdom. Any ruling intended to be recognized and executed shall include the following document and information:
a. An official copy of the ruling issued, and a copy of the law on which the confiscation order is based, and certificate on the ruling stating that the ruling is final , and issued by the competent judicial authority in the requesting country; b. The person involved in the case has been called to attend, and has been represented rightly, and able to defend himself; c. The ruling does not conflict with any ruling or order issued in the same subject from competent court in the kingdom, provided that no ongoing trail in the kingdom on the subject ruled by the requesting country; d. The ruling does not contain any provision not applicable to general law, and Sharia law in the kingdom; e. A statement that includes the procedures and measures taken by the requesting countries to protect the persons of good will. f. A description of the funds that the request is issued for in accordance to this article, estimation of their value, their possible location, and information about any person who keeps them or has them in his possession. However, the requesting countries shall provide a statement about the facts that the request is based on. g. The order of confiscation issued by the Kingdom determines how to preserve and manage confiscated funds. It is permissible to the competent court to request the hiring of a judicial guard, if needed, in which his expenses are deducted from the value of the funds he’s guarding.
40/2
In case of the received requests, where the perpetrator of the crime cannot be prosecuted because of death, escape, absence, or lack of identification, the Committee shall refer the request to the Public Prosecution to take the necessary procedures, provided that the request contains a statement which includes the merits and reasons it was based on, considering that such funds are linked to criminal conduct.
Article 41
The accused or convicted for Money laundering crime can be extradited from and to another country, which is a signatory with the Kingdom to a valid agreement or on the subject to the principle of reciprocity . In case of the rejection of the extradition, the competent courts in the kingdom undertake the trial and may benefit from the investigations were provided by the requested country. The Implementing Regulation shall further prescribe the conditions for extradition. 41/1
The extradition process is governed by the bilateral agreements signed between the kingdom and the requested country, or multilateral agreements ratified by the kingdom as per the applicable law.
41/2
The Kingdom may refuse to extradite Saudi nationals. Where a request for extradition is denied based on nationality of the accused or convict, the public prosecution shall, without delay, determine whether there are grounds for prosecution of the offense set forth in the request.
41/3
Extradition shall be subject to dual criminality. The dual criminality principal is available when the request country and the kingdom criminalized the act subject to the extradition, regardless the classification of the act as per the criminal laws.
41/4
The following requirements shall be included in the extradition:
A. Received a written and through the official channels; B. Attached a certified copy, or request the original of the conviction, or the detention order related to the extradited person, C. A statement on the crimes the extradition sought, including the widest range of information available, such as the time and location of the crime. D. The legal text, or the statement of the legal ground, to allow for assessing the request, E. The necessary information to identify the wanted persons, F. Any other information seek by the competent authority deemed necessary to execute the request.
Article 42
The Permanent Committee for Mutual Legal Assistance shall be responsible for receiving mutual legal assistance requests in all money laundering and associated predicate crimes. 42/1
The Permanent Committee for Mutual Legal Assistance at the Ministry of Interior shall arrange for the execution of mutual legal assistance requests and for any arrangements deemed necessary to transmit the evidentiary material gathered in response to a request for assistance to the competent authority of the requesting State. Where a request for mutual legal assistance results, directly or indirectly, in the confiscation of funds, the Permanent Committee for Mutual Legal Assistance shall determine whether the confiscated funds shall be shared with the requesting country.