Saudi Laws Update

Saudi Interior Ministry warns against large social gatherings Health officials report 175 new coronavirus cases, 156 recoveries, 4 deaths JEDDAH: The Saudi Ministry of Interior renewed its warning against social gatherings and reminded people of the penalties against gatherings of more than 50 individuals as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The ministry uploaded an infographic to Twitter stating: “Gatherings for social purposes such as funerals, parties and the like, for more than 50 people violate preventive measures against COVID-19.” The infographic reconfirmed that the initial penalty for an establishment or person who instigated the violation is a SR40,000 ($10,600) fine, while anyone in attendance or causing the crowding will pay SR5,000. If there is a second violation, the penalty will be doubled to SR80,000. Those who are in attendance or instigating the event will pay up to SR10,000. For a third violation, the penalty is doubled and they will...

Hatem Al-Kameli, founder and CEO of gifting ecommerce platform Resal Arabnews Hatem Al-Kameli is the founder and CEO of Resal, which offers digital gift services, including gift cards, to consumers, corporate clients and retailers. He founded the company in September 2016. Al-Kameli has been a board member of Oqal, the Kingdom’s first angel investor network, since September 2019, and a mentor at the Qimam Fellowship Program since June 2019. He is the cofounder of Lucidya, which was established in March 2015, and has been a board member since January 2019. Al-Kameli obtained a bachelor’s degree in information technology at King Abdul Aziz University in 2008. He gained an MBA in marketing from Al-Faisal University in 2012 and also attended a course in digital business strategy at Babson College in 2017. Al-Kameli has been working as an IT professional since the early 2000s. He worked as an IT specialist at the Saudi British Bank between May 2007 and January 2008. At Saudia airline, he wo...

  പുതിയ ബിനാമി വിരുദ്ധ നിയമം പ്രാബല്യത്തിൽ പുതിയ ബിനാമി വിരുദ്ധ നിയമം 2021 ജനുവരി അവസാന വാരം മുതൽ പ്രാബല്യത്തിൽ വരും. സൗദി ശൂറാ കൗൺസിൽ അംഗീകരിച്ച പുതിയ ബിനാമി വിരുദ്ധ നിയമം സൗദി മന്ത്രി സഭയും 2020 ഓഗസ്റ്റിൽ അംഗീകരിച്ചിരുന്നു. പ്രാദേശികമായി നൽകിയിട്ടുള്ള ബിസിനസ് ലൈസൻസുകൾ ഉപയോഗിച്ച് സ്വദേശി പൗരന്‍മാരുടെ സഹായത്തോടെ വിദേശികള്‍ അനധികൃതമായി നടത്തുന്ന ബിസിനസ് സംരംഭങ്ങള്‍ ഇല്ലാതാക്കുന്നതിനാണ്   പുതിയ ഭേദഗതി ലക്ഷ്യമിടുന്നത്. പുതിയ നിയമം നിയമലംഘകർക്കു കനത്ത പിഴയാണ്   ചുമത്തുന്നത്.   അഞ്ച് വർഷം വരെ തടവും അഞ്ച് ദശലക്ഷം റിയാൽ‌ വരെ പിഴയും. വാണിജ്യ തട്ടിപ്പുകളെ ചെറുക്കുന്നതിനും ചെറുകിട ഇടത്തരം സംരംഭങ്ങളിൽ ബിനാമി പ്രവണത ഒഴിവാക്കുന്നതിനുള്ള പരിഹാരങ്ങൾ വികസിപ്പിക്കു ന്നതിനുമായി സർക്കാർ നേരത്തെ ഒരു മിനിസ്റ്റീരിയൽ കമ്മിറ്റി രൂപീകരിച്ചിരുന്നു. പുതിയ കമ്മിറ്റി സൗദി പൗരന്മാരുടെ പേരിൽ രജിസ്റ്റർ ചെയ്തിട്ടുള്ള ബിസിനസുകൾ സ്വന്തമാക്കിയിരിക്കുന്ന വിദേശ പൗരന്മാരെ പരിശോധിക്കുന്നത് തുടരും , കൂടാതെ ബിസിനസ് ലൈസൻസുകളും മാൻ‌പവർ വിസകളും നൽകുന്ന സ്ഥാപനങ്ങളുമായി വിപുലമായ ഏകോപനമുണ്ടാകും. അനേകം വിദേശികള...

 New Anti-Concealment (Veiling) Provisions Effective In August 2020, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ’s Council of Ministers approved the new Anti-Concealment Law, which will be effective as of the last week of January 2021.   The new revisions aim to restrict the use of business licenses issued locally but which are used as “veils” for unnamed foreign parties who participate silently (usually in SMEs), and are evidence of the government’s resolve to eliminate the so-called “cover-up economy”.   The new provisions impose heavy penalties, including prison sentences of up to five years and fines as much as five million riyals.   The government had earlier established a ministerial committee to combat commercial fraud and to develop solutions to eliminate the practice of veiling in SMEs. The new committee will continue to look into foreign nationals who own businesses registered under the names of Saudi citizens, and there will be advanced levels of coordination among aut...

WhatsApp faces legal challenge over privacy policy in India January 14, 2021, Saudi Gazette   NEW DELHI —  WhatsApp is facing a legal challenge in India, its biggest market, after a petition was filed Thursday before Delhi High Court over the upcoming change in the Facebook-owned app’s data sharing policy. The petition alleges the new terms that WhatsApp requires its roughly 450 million users in the country to accept is a violation of their fundamental rights to privacy and poses a threat to national security. Through an in-app alert, WhatsApp has asked users in recent days to agree to new terms of conditions that grants the app the consent to share some personal data about them such as their phone number and location with Facebook. Users will have to agree to these terms by Feb.8, 2021 if they wish to continue using the app, the alert said. The change has been mischaracterized by many as their personal communication being compromised, which WhatsApp clarified this week was no...

  Saudi Gazette report RIYADH —  Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet has added a paragraph to Article 6 of the Kingdom’s law on combating harassment following a royal order. The penalties referred to in this article may include the provision to publish its summary at the expense of the convicted person in one or more local newspapers, or in any other appropriate means, according to the gravity of the crime and its impact on society. However, the publication of the summary must be done after the final ruling.

  Saudi Gazette report RIYADH —  Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet has added a paragraph to Article 6 of the Kingdom’s law on combating harassment following a royal order. The penalties referred to in this article may include the provision to publish its summary at the expense of the convicted person in one or more local newspapers, or in any other appropriate means, according to the gravity of the crime and its impact on society. However, the publication of the summary must be done after the final ruling. تعلن وزارة الموارد البشرية والتنمية الاجتماعية عن انتهاء العمل بالمادة ( 41) تعلن وزارة الموارد البشرية والتنمية الاجتماعية عن انتهاء العمل بالمادة (41) المضافة إلى اللائحة التنفيذية لنظام العمل الصادرة بالقرار الوزاري رقم (70273) وتاريخ 11 / 04 / 1440 هـ التي أضيفت في ظل الظروف الاستثنائية التي واجهتها المملكة العربية السعودية ومختلف دول العالم بسبب جائحة كورونا.