The Ministry of Commerce and Investment announced the issuance of a verdict by the Criminal Court in Riyadh to impose severe penalties, including fines, 90-month imprisonment, deportation and defamation against ten convicts, involved in commercial fraud, by setting up unlicensed factory for producing fake and counterfeit detergents, besides placing fake trade marks for deceiving the consumers, by claiming that such items are of high quality. The Criminal Court issued a verdict accusing the convicts for violating the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law.
MCI pointed out that the Criminal Court sentenced the defendants of 90-month imprisonment, six to eighteen months for each convict, also a fine of one hundred thousand riyals, as well as final deportation from the country after the execution of the sentence, with the prevention of re-entering the Kingdom, besides publishing the sentence in two local newspapers at the expense of the convicts. Notably, the first convict is Saudi, while the other ones are two Syrians, two Ethiopians and five Ethiopian women.
MCI would like to emphasize its on-going efforts to protect the consumers and to confront those violating the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law and the trademark system. All legal measures would be taken against the violators, who try to cheat or deceive the consumers, since their act poses a risk on the consumer’s health and safety.
The details go back upon detecting a rest house, used as unlicensed plant for the production of detergents in Jaw Center, Dharma’a governorate, Riyadh. Burning of chemicals and plastic materials was observed for long hours at the said site. After doing the necessary investigation, the warehouses, the machines used for counterfeiting and two containers of detergents were seized and destroyed.
In addition, a number of illegal labors were arrested at the said site. All those involved were referred to the concerned authorities, which in turn referred them to the Criminal Court that issued the current penalties and fines on the violators.
It is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Commerce and Investment participates, with other 19 government agencies, in the Comprehensive National Campaign "A Nation without Illegal Expat" The campaign aims to resolve the situation of those who violate the Residence, Labor and Security Borders System. All illegal expats can benefit from the amnesty period (90 days starting from 01.07.1438, corresponding to 29.03.2017.
MCI affirms that the illegal expatriate must not be employed in any way. All expat documents should be checked to ensure that they do not violate the Residence and Labor Regulations when dealing with them for any reason. In addition, the illegal expat should not be given a shelter or make a cover-up for him, also he must not be allowed to work at his own account.
MCI and all the participating parties stress that they will not tolerate in imposing stern measures and penalties on the commercial institutions employing illegal expats and those who violate the Residence, Labor and Border Security System.
The campaign, "Nation without Illegal Expat," launched by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince, Minister of the Interior, aims to grant the violators of the Residence and Labor System in the Kingdom the opportunity to benefit from the amnesty period and leave the Kingdom by their own, thus they will be exempted from penalties, fines and any effects related to "Murahil" finger print, and the possibility of re-entering the Kingdom by regular means.