Article 15 of the Saudi Capital Market Law

المادة 15 من نظام السوق المالية

The article treats any money owed to the Capital Market Authority by others as public money, handled like debts owed to the public treasury and collected using the treasury's debt collection procedures.

Official text (Arabic)

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

تعد أي أموال مستحقة للهيئة على الغير أموالًا عامة، وتتمتع بالمعاملة نفسها التي تتمتع بها الديون المستحقة للخزانة العامة، ويتم تحصيلها طبقًا لإجراءات تحصيل الديون المستحقة للخزانة العامة.

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 15 explained in plain English

This article deals with the nature of the money owed to the Capital Market Authority by others and how it is collected. It provides three rules:

Any money owed to the Authority by others is considered public money.
This money receives the same treatment as debts owed to the public treasury.
It is collected in accordance with the procedures for collecting debts owed to the public treasury.

The text is general: it covers "any money owed to the Authority", whether it is a fee for its services, fines or financial penalties, or anything else.

Article 14 determines what happens to these resources once collected: surpluses are transferred to the Ministry of Finance after deducting the Authority's expenses and costs, while the Authority keeps a general reserve equal to twice its total expenses in its previous annual budget.

In practice, a person who owes an amount to the Authority, such as a company that has not paid a fee or a person who has been fined, is not dealing with an ordinary private debt, but with a debt treated like debts owed to the public treasury. The article does not set out the details of those procedures; it refers to what applies to debts owed to the public treasury. Anyone with a dispute over an amount claimed from them would be well advised to consult a lawyer specializing in securities.

Practical example

A fine was imposed on a brokerage firm for violating the provisions of the law, and it did not pay it. Under this article the fine is public money and is collected in accordance with the procedures for collecting debts owed to the public treasury.

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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