The Expat Hired a Traditional House in Jeddah and Made it a Workshop for Gold Works
MCI Judicial Control Officers captured an expatriate who works for his own account by making a tradition house as unlicensed workshop for gold works in Jeddah.
In details, MCI inspection teams suspected a site making gold works in a traditional house south of Jeddah. Upon inspecting the house, it turned out that the expat had been running unlicensed workshop for gold works for his own account.
Notably, material evidences, documents, invoices, stamps and large sums of money ( two million four hundred thousand riyals), and more than ten kilograms of gold had been seized.
The Ministry shut down the site in violation, the citizen who is involved of covering-up and the expat have been summoned by the Ministry for further investigation, and then the case to be referred to the Public Prosecution and judiciary for taking the legal measures in accordance with the Anti-Commercial Concealment Law, and the Precious Metals and Gemstones System.
The Ministry of Commerce and Investment stresses the importance of having official licenses for practicing any trade activity, and calls on all citizens and residents in all regions of the Kingdom to report any cases of commercial concealment through the Ministry's Consumer Call Center (1900) or through the application of a Commercial Violation Report, or via the Ministry's website. Notably, MCI is granting an award of up to 30% of the total sentenced fines after collection. The fine may reach one million riyals against each violator.
It is worth mentioning that the Royal Supreme Authority has approved recently the implementation of the recommendations of the National Program for Combating the Commercial Concealment, which involves ten government agencies. This program aims to address and combat commercial concealment in all sectors, besides developing relevant regulations and legislations, also stimulating e-commerce and using technical solutions. This program aims as well at regulating and organizing the financial transactions to eliminate transferring of money abroad, as well as enhancing development in the private sector, also creating attractive jobs for Saudis and encouraging them to invest in various trade activities, more over finding solutions to the problem of illegal ownership of foreigners in the private sector.