SAMA received a letter from His Excellency the Minister of Finance and National Economy No. 6881/12 dated 12/10/1415H, referring to the Royal Directive No. 1501/3 dated 4/2/1412H, which was based on a letter from His Excellency the Minister of State and Chairman of the Oversight and Investigation Commission No. 13/Kh dated 14/1/1412H. The letter indicated that the commission conducted inspections of several government departments using checks to disburse employee salaries through commercial banks and their branches. These inspections resulted in several observations that the Royal Directive ordered to be studied by specialists in the relevant ministries.

The committee formed for this purpose concluded in its final report, which was submitted regarding these observations, that the violations identified are confined between the government entity and the client bank. Accordingly, His Excellency the Minister of Finance and National Economy, in his aforementioned letter, requested that the following be communicated to banks:

1. Cashiers and disbursement officers in government departments have been depositing public funds into their personal accounts in commercial banks. Client banks must not accept deposits of any checks related to public funds into personal accounts.
2. Some departments have been using salary current accounts for other purposes. Commercial banks must not accept any deposits into these accounts that are unrelated to salaries.
3. Some government entities have opened current accounts in commercial banks without consulting the Ministry of Finance and National Economy and SAMA, as required by current regulations. Commercial banks must not open any accounts for government entities without authorization from SAMA.
4. Some government entities have issued salary checks with a single signature or based on stamps instead of handwritten signatures. Commercial banks must not accept any check that carries only a stamp or a single signature.
5. Certain government entities have been printing salary checks on their own, in violation of instructions requiring such entities to obtain checkbooks in the necessary quantity from the bank, based on an official letter issued by the authorized person. Client banks must not accept any check not issued directly by the bank itself.

We request strict adherence to the above guidelines, avoiding any violations, and that all branches be informed to comply accordingly.