JEDDAH — The Public Prosecution revealed on Sunday that the Economic Crimes Prosecution wing had charged 3 people with forming a gang, in addition to attempting to smuggle SR1.3 million out of Saudi Arabia. The Public Prosecution said that following investigation of the accused, it was found that the two men and a woman, all of African nationality, had formed a gang for nefarious purposes. The investigations revealed that the accused tried to smuggle this amount of money out of Saudi Arabia by hiding it in a secret stashes inside the woman's bag when she was leaving King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah. The investigation procedures revealed that the seized amounts resulted from crimes and violations of several regulations. The Public Prosecution confirmed that a public criminal case was filed against the 3 accused before the competent court on charges of money laundering for attempting to smuggle it out of Saudi Arabia. A preliminary ruling was also issued against them, including the conviction of the defendants with what was assigned to them, in addition to the confiscation of the seized amount. The Public Prosecution indicated that other sums of money were also confiscated, which were seized from the house of one of the accused, in addition to the confiscation of phones that were used in the crime. The sentences handed down against the defendants included multiple fines and imprisonment for up to five years, in addition to the fact that they will be deported from Saudi Arabia after serving their sentences. It is noteworthy that the Public Prosecution Office submitted an objection note to appeal the verdict, in which it demanded a stiffening of the penalty for the perpetrators, while the Appeals Prosecution undertakes the appeal procedures in this regard in accordance with the law. An official source at the Public Prosecution called on all travelers to be careful and not to allow others to exploit them and to ask them to transfer any amounts or financial values without a legal justification. The official source confirmed that the Public Prosecution is continuing to protect the Saudi economy and its domestic product, warning that it will submit every person who tries to harm the financial security or the national economy to the competent court.
