Saudi Arabia commits to wage battle against money laundering

Saudi Arabia says it’s stepping up efforts to combat illicit financial activity.

Saudi Central Bank Governor Ayman Al-Sayari said during a meeting of the Financial Action Task Force in Washington, D.C., last week that the kingdom is aligning its regulatory framework with international standards and has updated anti-money laundering laws to strengthen supervision, confiscation mechanisms and cross-border cooperation.

Al-Sayeri also called for stronger international coordination to fight terrorist financing and arms proliferation.

“We support adopting a risk-based approach in implementing international standards requirements and mutual evaluation processes, and we welcome financial innovations,” Al-Sayari said.