Saudi Arabia tightens scrutiny of UAE-bound money transfers
Saudi Arabia is treating financial transfers to the UAE with the extra scrutiny generally applied to countries suspected of money laundering.
The Saudi central bank notified key banks earlier this year to apply the additional checks, Reuters reports, three people with direct knowledge of the policy and six who said transfers to the UAE have been delayed or returned.
The Saudi central bank said there are “no direct restrictions on specific countries, while a UAE official said the government had received no reports of unusual transfer delays.
One Saudi insider told the news agency that the measures are a “subtle message” to Abu Dhabi amid widening tensions between the two Gulf powers.
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.
