Article 32 of the Saudi Anti-Money Laundering Law

المادة 32 من نظام مكافحة غسل الأموال · الفصل السابع: العقوبات

The article allows a money laundering conviction to include publishing a summary of the judgment at the convicted person's expense in a local newspaper or other suitable means, after the judgment becomes final.

Official text (Arabic)

This article has not been amended since the law was issued.

يجوز تضمين الحكم الصادر بالعقوبة النص على نشر ملخصه على نفقة المحكوم عليه في صحيفة محلية تصدر في مقر إقامته، فإن لم تكن في مقره صحيفة ففي أقرب منطقة له، أو نشره في أي وسيلة أخرى مناسبة، وذلك بحسب نوع الجريمة المرتكبة وجسامتها وتأثيرها، على أن يكون نشر الحكم بعد اكتسابه الصفة النهائية.

This is the official Arabic wording, the only legally binding version. We do not translate the law itself; the explanation below is ours. Official source: Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers

Article 32 explained in plain English

This article regulates the publication of the judgment imposing the penalty in a money laundering offense, commonly known as public naming.

Elements of the provision:

Permissive: The judgment may include a provision for publication; publication does not happen automatically in every case.
What is published: A summary of the judgment.
At whose expense? At the expense of the convicted person.
Where? In a local newspaper published where he resides, or if there is no newspaper where he resides, then in the nearest area to him, or by any other suitable means.
The criterion of assessment: According to the type of offense committed, its seriousness and its impact.
Timing: Publication takes place only after the judgment becomes final.

A summary of the judgment is therefore not published before it becomes final. The text also requires that the judgment itself provide for publication, meaning publication is by virtue of the judgment.

This provision comes among the penalties the law provides for, including the penalties for natural persons in Articles 26 and 27, and the penalties for a legal person in Article 31, with a fine of up to fifty million riyals. Anyone against whom a judgment including publication has been issued would do well to consult a lawyer who specializes in criminal cases.

Practical example

A judgment was issued convicting a merchant residing in Dammam of a money laundering offense, and the judgment included publication of its summary. The summary is published only after the judgment becomes final, and publication is at the merchant's expense in a local newspaper published in Dammam or by another suitable means.

Translated from our Arabic explanation with machine assistance. For guidance only; it does not replace advice from a lawyer on your situation.

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