Rashid Muhammad Al-Fawzan

Al-Riyadh

The Kingdom has suffered from terrorism in the past and has fought it hard until it has almost disappeared. The Kingdom has also dried up the financial sources of terrorism and has combatted extremism. Terrorism no longer exists in the Kingdom, thanks to the Saudi government that has worked on the economic, social and political front to eradicate terrorism and enhance national security and stability.

As a result, I do not understand on what basis the European Commission has added the Kingdom to its list of terror-funding countries. What kind of terrorism are they are talking about? The Saudi government has enforced laws to control each riyal paid as a donation to or in support of any charity or foundation. The movement of money is completely and strictly controlled by the government. Moreover, the Kingdom imposes very strict control on financial instruments.

Concerning money laundering, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency has imposed strict regulations on opening bank accounts while the Ministry of Justice has trained judges and provided them with courses on how to detect money-laundering practices. Any donation of money for charity purposes is carefully examined before it is approved. I hope the European Commission’s officials will come to the Kingdom and see for themselves the results of these regulations on the ground.

Twitter: @r_alfowzan