Anti-Financial Fraud and Deceit Law

The Anti-Financial Fraud and Deceit Law prescribes sanctions for financial fraud and deceit in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Relevant crimes include defalcation, incitement, and crime perpetration.

The Anti-Financial Fraud and Deceit Law was promulgated pursuant to a Royal Decree issued on April 22, 2022, and a Council of Ministers resolution issued on April 20, 2022. It consists of eleven articles. It vested upon the Public Prosecution the authority to investigate and prosecute relevant crimes before the competent court.

The Anti-Financial Fraud and Deceit Law sentences any person who engages in defalcation, where such action entails resorting to fraud, including lying, misleading others, or deceit, to a maximum sentence of seven years of incarceration and a fine of no more than SAR5 million, or either sanction.

The law sentences any person who engages in defalcation, where a person unlawfully seizes funds, with the exception of public funds, entrusted to him as part of his work, by way of entrusted funds, deposits, partnerships, leases, loans, agencies, or mortgages, or would deliberately damage such funds or disposes thereof in bad faith, to a maximum sentence of five years of incarceration and a fine of no more than SAR3 million, or either sanction. If such defalcation is considered a crime pursuant to other laws, then the severer sanction applies.

The Anti-Financial Fraud and Deceit Law sentences any person who incites, helps, or agrees with another person to commit any of the crimes mentioned under this law to a sentence that does not exceed half of the maximum sentence prescribed for the predicate offense if this crime is committed as a result of such incitement, assistance, or agreement. The law sentences any person who attempts to commit any of the crimes mentioned under this law to a sentence that does not exceed half of the maximum sentence prescribed for the completed crime.

In case the crime was committed by a crime syndicate or in the event of recidivism, sentences ruled upon are no less than half, but no more than twice the maximum sentence prescribed under the Anti-Financial Fraud and Deceit Law. Instruments and tools used for committing crimes, as well as the resulting criminal proceeds, are confiscated pursuant to a judicial ruling.

The law stipulates publishing a summary of the sentence ruling at the expense of the convicted person in one newspaper or more issued in the place of their residence. If no newspaper exists in their place of residence, it may be published in the nearest region, or in any other appropriate medium, depending on the type, severity, and impact of the crime, provided that the publication occurs after the ruling becomes final.

The law also prescribes that the competent court may exempt any offender from such sanctions should he inform the competent authority of the crime prior to discovering such crime and before its damages are inflicted. If the offender reports the crime after its discovery, exemption is granted if the provided information eventually leads to arresting other culprits, if any.