SAUDI ARABIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Saud AlRomi, Mostafa Ihab and Saleh Elbadry, Mohammed AlDhabaan & Partners Eversheds Sutherland
dering investigations, which can extend to lawyers’ offices and documents.
Under Articles 44 and 45 of the Anti-Money Laun - dering Law, the Public Prosecution may issue ex parte provisional seizure orders and search warrants extending to financial records in money laundering and predicate offence investigations. As discussed previously, under the enforcement framework of the Enforcement Law, the enforcement judge may order garnishment of bank accounts and mandatory disclosure of financial information through the supervisory authority once an enforceable instru - ment exists. In all three cases, banking confidentiality does not operate as a bar to disclosure. 7.3 Crypto-Assets Saudi Arabia does not have a dedicated statutory framework governing crypto-assets. The most rel - evant framework from the perspective of fraud and asset recovery is the Anti-Money Laundering Law. The Anti-Money Laundering Law’s definition of “funds” is broad – encompassing assets of any value or type, whether tangible or intangible, including electronic or digital systems. Crypto-assets used as proceeds of fraud or as instruments of money laundering therefore fall within the Anti-Money Laundering Law’s reach, and the public prosecution’s investigative and seizure powers under Articles 43–45 of the Anti-Money Laun - dering Law apply to them.
7. Special Rules and Laws 7.1 Rules for Claiming Punitive or Exemplary Damages Saudi law does not provide for punitive or exemplary damages. Compensation is governed by Articles 136 and 137 of the CTL, which establish that compen - sation shall fully restore the aggrieved party to their original position – covering actual loss and lost profits that are a natural result of the harmful act. Where contractually agreed compensation exists, Arti - cle 179 (3) of the CTL permits the court to increase the agreed amount if the claimant establishes that fraud or gross negligence by the other party caused the harm to exceed what was agreed. 7.2 Laws to Protect “Banking Secrecy” In Saudi Arabia, banks owe a general duty of con - fidentiality to their customers in respect of account information and financial data. However, this duty yields in a number of circumstances. In the context of fraud and asset recovery, three are particularly rel - evant. Under Article 43 of the Anti-Money Laundering Law, the public prosecution may order any financial institu - tion – through the supervisory authority – to provide records, documents or information in connection with a criminal investigation, and the institution must com - ply promptly and accurately.
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