JEDDAH — The Ministry of Commerce (MC) has defamed a citizen and Syrian resident after a court found them both guilty of defrauding heavy equipment trade in Dammam. The case centers on the uncovering of commercial cover-up (tasattur) in a contracting facility, where it was discovered that a citizen was empowering a resident to buy heavy equipment at auctions and sell it to facilities and individuals. A final court verdict was issued by the Dammam Criminal Court, fining the violators SR400,000 and defaming them in the mass media at their expense. The law imposes additional penalties on top of statutory penalties including closing the facility, liquidating the business, writing off the commercial registry, forbidding the operator from engaging in commercial activity in the future, and collecting zakat, fees and other taxes. The court also ordered to blacklist the expatriate, who had fled Saudi Arabia, and bar him from coming back to the country for work. It was discovered during the investigations that a personal account was used for covering up transactions, including the transfer of huge amounts of cash outside the Kingdom. An unusual increase in the volume of financial transactions by the expatriate confirmed that he was earning commission through the cover-up operation. The accused were referred to the Public Prosecution and ultimately to the courts as per anti-cover-up laws. The national program to combat cover-up has adopted modern mechanisms that contribute to limiting the sources of cover-up and eliminating the shadow economy. As many as 20 government agencies are working to control concealment using artificial intelligence techniques, data and information analysis. Stringent penalties, which include five years in prison and a fine of SR5 million, along with the confiscation of illegal funds, are imposed on the violators.
