SAUDI ARABIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Saud AlRomi, Mostafa Ihab and Saleh Elbadry, Mohammed AlDhabaan & Partners Eversheds Sutherland
Civil Claims For nullification of a contract on grounds of decep - tion, Article 79 of the CTL provides that a claim must be brought within one year from the date the victim becomes aware of the deception. In all cases, nul - lification claims cannot be heard after ten years from the date the contract was concluded. For civil compensation claims arising from harmful acts, Article 143 (1) of the CTL sets a three-year period from the date the victim becomes aware of both the harm and the identity of the person responsible, with an absolute cap of ten years from the date the harm occurred. However, where the compensation claim arises from a criminal act, Article 143 (2) of the CTL provides that the civil claim remains alive for as long as the criminal case can be heard – a provision that significantly extends the effective limitation period in fraud cases that are also the subject of criminal pro - ceedings. For unjust enrichment claims, Article 159 of the CTL sets a three-year period from the date the creditor becomes aware of their right, with an absolute cap of ten years from the date the right arose. Criminal Claims Saudi criminal laws do not provide a uniform limita - tion period for fraud offences. Under Article 27 of the Forgery Penal Code, criminal suits for most forgery offences lapse after ten years from the date of com - mission. For offences under the Anti-Financial Fraud Law and Anti-Bribery Law, no limitation period is pre - scribed in the texts of those laws. 1.5 Proprietary Claims Against Property Identifiable Property Where misappropriated movable property remains identifiable and in the possession of another, a fraud victim can assert a proprietary claim to recover it. Article 26 of the Enforcement Law allows a claimant of ownership of a movable property to request pro - visional attachment of that property while in the pos - session of others, where there is compelling evidence supporting the claim. Where the recipient acted in bad faith, Article 676 of the CTL further requires that person to account for
Where the facilitating third party was enriched as a result of the fraud, Article 144 of the CTL provides a separate claim against any person enriched without legitimate cause at another’s expense. In all cases, Article 127 of the CTL imposes joint and several liabil - ity on all persons responsible for the same harmful act. Saudi courts generally limit compensation to actually suffered losses and lost profits that are a natural result of the harmful act. This flows directly from Articles 136 and 137 of the CTL. Criminal Claims A facilitating third party may face criminal exposure under three separate laws, which may apply concur - rently. Under Article 3 of the Anti-Financial Fraud Law, anyone who incites, conspires with or assists in the commission of any offence under that law faces the same maximum penalty as the principal offender if the offence is carried out, and up to half that maximum if it is not. Under Article 10 of the Anti-Bribery Law, anyone who knowingly incites, conspires with or assists in the commission of a bribery offence is treated as an accomplice and faces the same penalties as the prin - cipal. Under the Anti-Money Laundering Law, a facilitating party faces independent criminal exposure. Article 2 criminalises acquiring, possessing or using funds known to be proceeds of crime, concealing or disguis - ing their nature or source, and participating in, facili - tating or colluding in any such acts. Article 4 clarifies that a money laundering conviction is independent from a conviction for the underlying predicate offence – meaning a facilitator can be prosecuted under the Anti-Money Laundering Law even if the primary fraud case has not yet concluded. The complaint is filed with the public prosecution or the police. The Public Prosecution is the competent authority to investigate and prosecute money laundering crimes under Article 48 of the Anti-Money Laundering Law. 1.4 Limitation Periods Saudi law does not have a single limitation period for fraud claims. Different periods apply depending on the type of claim.
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