SAMA, justice ministry finalize electronic link to combat illicit financing

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) completed, today, Oct. 12, the electronic link program (Tanfeeth) with enforcement courts in the Ministry of Justice. The move came in implementation of the royal order issued to curb unlicensed person financing, under the Finance Companies Control Law. 

The new link aims to accurately track down the offenders, promptly putting them on trial and inflicting penalties on them, so as to protect the Kingdom’s economy, SAMA said in a statement. 

The move will help curb the exploitation of debtors in default through illegal means that do not take into account the debtors’ credit status and their ability to repay debts, in addition to the high charges imposed on them.  

Under the controls set by the royal decree, SAMA will label any unlicensed person engaged in financing activities as 'under investigation' if the number of promissory notes submitted by an applicant to enforcement courts exceeds a specific number in one year.  

That label will continue to exist until the case is resolved by the competent judicial authority. 

Under the Finance Companies Control Law, Article (4) stipulates that no person may engage in any finance activity without obtaining a license from SAMA, in accordance with the law or other applicable laws. 

The second paragraph of Article 35 defined the penalty for violating the system, which included the royal decree directing to take the necessary measures to intensify those penalties, especially the imprisonment.