The New Law Includes a Penalty of Five-Year Imprisonment and a Fine of up to 5 Million Riyals
The Ministry of Commerce has explained that the new Anti-Commercial Concealment Law, approved by the Council of Ministers today, contributes to eliminating the sources of cover-up, as well as the shadow economy. The new law includes heavy penalties such as five-year imprisonment and a fine of up to five million riyals.
The new law contains mechanisms to protect the identity and data of those informing about the concealment cases, so that they are not mentioned in the case file, besides giving them a reward of up to (30%) of the fine collected after the verdict is issued and become final.
The new law stipulated proactive measures to prevent the occurrence of the commercial concealment crimes. This is to eliminate the sources of this phenomenon by addressing the stages preceding the crime. The new law includes as well penalties such as the seizure and confiscation of the illegal funds of the violators after the issuance of a final court verdict.
The new law enables the relevant government authorities to control crimes and violations relevant to the commercial concealment in cooperation and together with the Ministry of Commerce, and it obligates each authority that issues licenses to practice any economic activity to carry out the necessary follow up on such facilities, and to inform the Ministry about any suspicion relevant to the commercial concealment.
The new law gives the relevant parties the authority to use the technology to prove the crimes and violations of the commercial concealment through the "Electronic Evidences" in addition to other methods of proof. The new law also introduced the principle that the penalty may be reduced or exempted for the violator who comes by himself and inform or report about the crime of cover-up in accordance with specific controls.
It is noteworthy that the new Anti-Commercial Concealment Law contributes to motivating the small and medium enterprises and protects the consumers against the negative effects of cover-up. Notably, the Ministry of Commerce is responsible for monitoring the commercial facilities, receiving reports, and controlling crimes and violations as stipulated in this law.