Account Opening Rules

Rules for Opening Bank Accounts for the Purpose of Linking Investment Deposits Only or Linking Investment Deposits for Issuing Letters of Guarantee to Non-Resident Juristic Persons Banks may open accounts for non-resident juristic persons (for instance, sovereign wealth funds, mutual funds, cash funds, investment companies, and the like) for the purpose of linking investment deposits only or linking investment deposits for issuing letters of guarantee in banks operating in Saudi Arabia. Banks shall take into consideration the provisions of Article (11) of the Anti-Money Laundering Law and Article (66) of the Law of Terrorism Crimes and Financing . Non-resident foreign investors’ documents shall be obtained by the correspondent banks outside Saudi Arabia. The correspondent bank’s verification of all documents is required in addition to identifying the customer’s account number held by the bank. This should be subject to the following conditions: 1. Obtaining copies of the following documents: a. License\commercial register issued by the competent authority in the country of origin. b. Memorandum of association and its annexes or the founding document in the case of sovereign wealth funds and the like, clearly showing the structure of capital and management. c. The authorization issued by the board for the persons authorized to open and operate the bank account, unless this is specified in the memorandum of association. 2. Obtaining a list of names and copies of the identities of board members and authorized managers showing their nationalities. 3. Identifying and assessing ML/TF risks, applying preventive measures, and exercising due diligence when handling such accounts. 4. Opening an intermediary account with the bank for the purpose intended, named (investment deposit account). 5. The account shall not allow any kind of services (checks, ATM cards, etc.). 6. The customer’s request to break the deposit or issue a bank guarantee shall be made through any of the following: a. A SWIFT message from the customer through the correspondent bank which the customer deals with in its home country. b. Written instructions signed by two authorized persons in the non-resident foreign company, whose names are included in the deposit request. c. The beneficiary shall be the same juristic person. 7. Cash deposits, checks and transfers from domestic accounts with the same bank are not permitted. 8. The bank shall confirm that all IDs and documents are true copies of the originals, and documents issued outside Saudi Arabia shall be verified by relevant authorities, the Saudi Embassy in the relevant country and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Saudi Arabia. 9. Obtaining approval of the CEO and the manager of compliance department to open the account. 10. SAMA must be informed when the account is opened. 11. The account must only be used for purposes of deposits, and it is not allowed to be used to carry out any other transactions. 400.2 Rules for Opening Intermediary Investment Accounts - A bank offering among its investment products and services pooled accounts managed by professional intermediaries or lawyers (such as mutual funds, cash funds, deposit funds, etc.) shall obtain from the intermediary ID documents of beneficiaries of the account where there are sub-accounts for each real beneficiary. The bank shall also ensure that the intermediary is subject to the same regulatory requirements applicable to banks pertaining to AML/CFT and KYC principle. - Banks must obtain copies of the intermediary’s licenses to practice business attested by the correspondent bank or the Saudi Embassy. - Approval of the CEO/general director and the manager of compliance department to open the account. - SAMA must be informed when the account is opened.