Saudi Insurance Authority gives companies 30 days to meet beneficial ownership rules
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The Insurance Authority has adopted beneficial ownership guidelines and given insurance companies 30 days to comply with the new requirements.
In a circular, the Authority set out the rules for identifying beneficial owners in line with anti-money laundering laws, terrorism financing regulations and beneficiary rules.
The Authority said the Ministry of Commerce has launched a service on the Wathiq platform that allows companies’ disclosed beneficial ownership data to be accessed.
The service provides updated and approved information to help financial institutions carry out customer due diligence, including verifying the identity of beneficial owners through authorised personnel.
Insurance companies must notify the Ministry of Commerce through the platform if they identify an undisclosed beneficial owner or find discrepancies in disclosed information during due diligence checks.
The circular said these notifications do not affect obligations related to reporting suspicious transactions or complying with the Personal Data Protection Law.
The Authority also referred to a service by the National Center for Development of the Non-Profit Sector, which allows companies to identify beneficial owners through its website and report discrepancies to the centre in line with the relevant circular.