After an extensive study of all its branches in the various areas of the Kingdom, the Ministry of Trade in Saudi Arabia is about to complete the final draft of the penalties of commercial fraud. The new implementing regulations are intended replace the current regulations. According to Ministry sources, the new regulations await their approval after they have been submitted to the Council of Ministers for consideration and adoption. The old regulations have been in force for almost eighteen years; they were approved in the year 1404 AH (1984 AC).
The sources indicated that among the main points which the new regulations on commercial fraud included is maximizing the financial fine, in the event of established fraud. The fine will become half a million Saudi Riyals (US$ 133.000) instead of a hundred thousand Riyals, which is the fine currently applied, in addition to closing the violating store or commercial center for a period of not less than six months, instead of three months. As for gold and precious metals, the penalty of cheating in carat and weight of worked gold and precious metals will be raised to six hundred thousand Riyals (US$ 160,000) instead of four hundred thousand as a maximum. There is a possibility of doubling the penalty of imprisonment instead of the current one which is one year.
The Ministry is also studying the possibility of referring some of the lawsuits of commercial fraud that affect people’s health and lives in a direct way to religious courts so as to have them issue legal decisions and punish violators in a manner which renders them an example for others. This is a step to be taken by the Ministry to control commercial fraud, which has started to increase its effect on the goods available in the markets of the Kingdom.
It should be noted that the Ministry of Trade has recently taken action, according to the directives of H. E. the Minister of Trade, Osama Bin Ja’afar Faqih, to prevent various types of commercial fraud. The result of this measure was to establish a new administration under the name of the General Administration for the Prevention of Commercial Fraud, that is managed by Dr. Abdul Aal Al-Abdul Aali, who, in turn, has increased the members of the control body in the administration and the number of inspectors. This action contributed to controlling the volume of commercial fraud that some merchants inflict upon consumers.