Dubai, UAE — Saudi Arabia has updated the executive regulations of its Anti-Money Laundering Law, introducing stricter disclosure requirements for travellers and enhanced risk-assessment obligations for financial institutions and designated businesses.
The amendments, published in the Official Gazette and effective June 26, 2026, state that money-laundering provisions apply to anyone who commits the underlying crime and participates in laundering its proceeds.
Under the new rules, financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions must identify, assess and document their money-laundering risks, update those assessments regularly and provide them to supervisory authorities upon request.
The regulations also set a disclosure threshold of SAR40,000 ($10,660) for cash, negotiable bearer instruments, gold bullion, precious metals, gemstones, jewellery and similar items carried into or out of the kingdom.
Travellers carrying gold bullion, precious metals, gemstones or jewellery worth SAR40,000 or more must declare them to customs and provide purchase invoices to verify their value. Items deemed commercial will be subject to the GCC Unified Customs Law and its executive regulations.
The amendments further stipulate that the General Directorate of Financial Intelligence will be headquartered in Riyadh, with authority to establish branches across Saudi Arabia.
