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

Business Recorder, citing Reuters, reported that Saudi Arabia has subjected transfers to the UAE to enhanced oversight normally applied to jurisdictions seen as high risk for illicit financial flows. Three sources said the measures had not been made public. Several businesspeople have described delayed or returned payments from Saudi banks, while the central bank in Riyadh denied imposing any direct limits on particular nations.

Six businesspeople spoke to Reuters about transfers in several currencies that were held up or sent back by Saudi lenders, without any official reason given. Bankers said transfers now pass through more hands and closer compliance checks, so some take weeks while others never complete. Three businesspeople said their firms have started routing payments through third countries to avoid the delays.

The UAE economy ministry said it had received no reports from private companies about unusual delays in bank transfers between the two nations. The Saudi central bank said all banks apply controls based on their own internal assessments. Analysts cited in the report consider a full economic rupture unlikely, although the two Gulf states have diverged on oil quotas, Yemen and Iran.