Amendment of Rule 300-1-4 of the Account Opening Rules

Saudi Central Bank (SAMA)

Reference No.: 44082632
Date: 1444/10/28
Attachments: 2 copies

Circular Letter

To:
Respected Parties,
Peace be upon you, mercy of Allah and His blessings.

Subject: Amendment of Rule No. (4-1-300) of the Account Opening Rules.

Reference is made to Rule No. (4-1-300) concerning resident investors under the Foreign Investment Law, included in the Account Opening Rules notified via SAMA Circular Letter No. (67/6568) dated 1/11/1440H.

We hereby inform you of the amendment to the aforementioned Rule, as per the attached format. Please note that the key amendments are as follows:

1. Exclusion of the requirement to obtain the founding documents (such as commercial registration and memorandum of association) for the foreign or national company holding shares in a licensed foreign company in the Kingdom, and replacing it with a requirement to understand the ownership structure, identify the partners named in the memorandum of association or articles of incorporation, and verify them using documents, data, or information from a reliable and independent source, with the possibility of completing the verification process later after account opening under specific conditions.

2. Exclusion of the obligation to obtain a power of attorney (in all cases) for account management and operation, with the addition of a verification mechanism to confirm the validity of the authorization.

To respond and act accordingly effective from its date.
Yours sincerely,

Al-Nu'man
Yazeed bin Ahmed Al-Sheikh
Deputy Governor for Supervision

Distribution Scope:

• Banks and financial institutions operating in the Kingdom.

P.O. Box 2992 Riyadh 11169, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Tel: +966 11 463 3000 P.O. Box: 2992, Riyadh 11169, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Tel: +966 11 463 3000