Saudi Arabia has stepped up strict measures to control money laundering and illegal transfer of funds, a central bank official said Monday, October 1. "Strict measures have been applied to follow up on and control money laundering and illegal transfer of funds," a bank official told AFP.
The measures come in the wake of the devastating September 11 terror attacks in New York and Washington that left thousands dead. Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayf Bin Abdul Aziz told reporters on Sunday that the monetary agency and finance ministry were working together to check if there were any suspicious bank accounts in the kingdom.
The UN Security Council Friday adopted a resolution obliging member states to crack down on supporters of terrorist groups and threatening sanctions against countries that do not cooperate with the anti-terror campaign launched by the US after the attacks.
On September 24, US President George W. Bush ordered banks to freeze the US assets of Saudi-born Usama Bin Ladin, prime suspect in the attacks, and 26 other individuals and groups seen as linked to terrorism and the attacks, and urged world governments to follow suit. ― (AFP, Riyadh)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
