Article

Controls on the transfer of cash and precious metals are a fundamental pillar in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing strategies, ensuring the integrity of the financial system and strengthening global economic security. In a previous article published in this newspaper on June 1, 2007, titled 'Disclosure Procedures for Travelers: A Successful Step Complementing National Efforts to Combat Money Laundering,' I described—following a professional assignment I was honored to lead, along with my team, during the early stages of establishing the 'Financial Investigation Unit' (General Administration of Financial Investigations)—the implementation of disclosure procedures for the first time in the Kingdom. Today, nearly two decades later, the new executive regulations of the Anti-Money Laundering Law recently approved a substantial update: lowering the mandatory financial declaration threshold at all entry and exit points of the Kingdom from SAR 60,000 to SAR 40,000. This amendment, which aligns with best practices and recognized standards, is not merely a response to a routine review of a numerical threshold, but a strategic necessity imposed by the changing nature of contemporary financial risks, which now rely on fragmenting flows and exploiting regulatory gaps to bypass traditional controls.

The balanced analysis and sober description of these recent amendments—both to the law and its executive regulations—reveal a qualitative shift in the design of control, risk management, and security enforcement. The expansion now covers a wide range of assets and addresses the potential liquidity gap that smugglers have used as a safe haven to transfer cash and precious metals outside formal banking channels. Declaration has become a legal obligation for anything valued at SAR 40,000 or more, or its equivalent in foreign currencies, including currencies, bearer negotiable financial instruments, gold bullion, precious metals, gemstones, and crafted jewelry or similar items. The inclusion of these items in the declaration process provides the General Administration of Financial Investigations with high-quality information to build an analytical database that enables the derivation of behavioral patterns for investigating suspicious parties. This reflects legislative maturity recognizing that the system's strength lies in precisely targeting suspicious financial behaviors of individuals before they become a threat to the national economy's security. The next challenge, if I may say, lies not only in issuing these amendments but in intensifying actual field monitoring that balances the enforcement of the rule of law with the flexibility of economic activity—a balance that has always been the true test of success for any strategic regulatory system.