Saudi unit to fight money laundry

Saudi Arabia announced yesterday the foundation of a unit for fighting money laundering under the name "financial investigation units," in the course of its efforts to prevent any financing operations to extremist organizations.

A statement issued by the Saudi cabinet in conclusion of its session which was held in Jeddah under the chairmanship of King Fahd, said that the new law "defined acts which are considered as money laundering as making 'any operation for raising funds while the raiser knows it is from a criminal activity or of illegal source as well as financing terrorism and terrorist operations and organizations.'"

The statement added that the law makes it compulsory for financial and non- financial organizations "not to make any trade and financial dealing under an unidentified or fake name, and has to make sure of the identity of the customers, according to official documents."

The Saudi official news agency said that King Fahd expressed during the session "his own appreciation and that of Saudi Arabia for what the Saudi security men and military formations men in general showed of courage in chasing killers and fighting forces of evils, among terrorists."