RIYADH — The Ministry of Commerce has defamed a Saudi citizen and a Syrian resident after a court ruling was issued condemning them for committing the crime of cover up (tasattur) in the livestock trade in Riyadh. The Ministry clarified the details of the case, saying that the concealed person had engaged in the trade of buying and selling sheep and their fodder, and his employer had sought to conceal him and enabled him to work on his own account. The cover up activities saw the increase of his financial dealings in a way that was not commensurate with his profession, as a private driver, with a salary of SR2,500 per month. The anomaly in addition was found in his transferring of funds resulting from the activity outside Saudi Arabia. After the case became clear, the Criminal Court in Riyadh issued a final judicial ruling, which imposed a fine of SR60,000, in addition to defaming the violators at their expense. The penalties also included legally prescribed punishments, which are: closing the facility for violators, in addition to liquidating the activity, and writing off the commercial register. Additionally, the violators will also be prevented from engaging in commercial activity, and collecting zakat, fees and taxes, in addition to the fact that the resident will be expelled from Saudi Arabia and will not be allowed to return to work. It is noteworthy that The National Program to Combat Commercial Concealment (tasattur) under the Ministry of Commerce is distinguished by adopting modern mechanisms that contribute to restricting tasattur. There are 20 government agencies working to arrest concealment by using artificial intelligence techniques and data and information analysis. The program also imposes legal penalties against violators of up to 5 years in prison and a fine of SR5 million, in addition to seizing illegal funds after the issuance of final judicial rulings against those involved.
