Saudi Arabia convicts citizen, expat in $1.6 mln money laundering scheme

Two people were jailed for three years in Saudi Arabia after the authorities exposed their $1.6 million (6 million riyal) money laundering operation, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Sunday.

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One of the pair, a Saudi national, set up a fraudulent company in order to open bank accounts which were then passed on to a foreign national who used the accounts to deposit money obtained through illegal means.

The Saudi national was paid a monthly fee, and the foreign citizen transferred the money abroad.

Neither of the individuals have been publicly identified.

Authorities investigated the company and deduced that it had no actual business operations, and the two men were apprehended.

The Saudi national will be banned from traveling abroad after serving the three years in prison, while the foreign citizen will be deported.

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