Saudi Arabia tightens anti-crime oversight on UAE-bound bank transfers

LONDON, Aug. 18 (YPA) – Saudi Arabia has placed financial transfers to the UAE under extra layers of regulatory oversight reserved for countries considered high-risk for illicit money flows, according to Middle East affairs researcher Andreas Krieg, who said the move comes amid escalating tensions between the two Gulf states.

“A Saudi insider said the enhanced oversight was intended as a “subtle message” to Emirati leaders about the importance of maintaining good relations following a period of escalating tensions between the two Gulf heavyweights, ” Krieg wrote in a pot on X.

The extra layers of regulatory oversight are normally reserved for countries considered high-risk for illicit money flows, according to Reuters.

Three people with direct knowledge of the matter told the news agency that the measures, which have not been announced publicly, put the UAE among more than a half dozen countries in the region deemed high risk in Saudi Arabia for financial crime.

The measures, which were not announced publicly, could help explain why a number of companies say they have had difficulties transferring funds from accounts in Saudi Arabia to the UAE ‌in recent months, an issue first reported by Bloomberg and the Financial Times in July. The enhanced oversight measures have not previously been reported.

@E.Y.M