Saudi Arabia: Declare cash, jewellery or face money laundering charges

Abu Dhabi: Passengers entering or leaving Saudi Arabia and carrying SR60,000 or more in cash are obliged to report it to any customs control unit or official enquiring about it, Saudi Public Prosecution said on its Twitter account.

“Travellers who fail to disclose, or provide false declaration about, SR60,000 in cash or equivalent means of payment, gold bars, precious metals, gemstones, or jewellery could face money laundering charges,” the Public Prosecution warned.

The term cash includes banknotes and coins that are legal tender, orbanknotes and coins that are not legal tender, but that can still be exchanged for currency that is legal tender, and certain securities such as savings bonds, cheques, travellers‘ cheques, shares, and drafts.

The Prosecution said travellers must submit a declaration to the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, which may ask them for additional information about its source or the purpose of its use.

The Customs Authority noted it has the right to hold the amount of currency, negotiable instruments, gold bars, precious metals, precious stones, or jewellery for 72 hours if there is a suspicion that they are proceeds of or linked to a money laundering crime or predicate crime, including in cases of amounts that do not reach the limit of declaration, and cases of non-disclosure or false declaration.