The Royal Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Washington DC released a report today outlining actions the government has taken since September 11 to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism activities. The report was released by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), the Kingdom's central bank. SAMA supervises commercial banks, manages the Kingdom’s foreign exchange reserves and conducts monetary policy.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been at the forefront of international efforts in fighting terrorism and for combating money laundering activities,” the report states. “All Saudi banks are required to have anti-money laundering units with specialist staff to work with SAMA and law enforcement agencies.”

The international financial web that supports and funds Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations is highly complex and weaves in and out of scores of countries and hundreds of financial institutions. To effectively freeze terrorist assets requires unprecedented international cooperation. Saudi Arabia is committed to working with the international community to confront terrorism and choke off its financial resources.

Recently, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia joined Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors from the G-20 countries in order to develop an aggressive action plan directed at the routing out and freezing of terrorist assets worldwide. Saudi Arabia is proud to have been a leader in the development of this plan and its implementation, which is a key objective for dealing with terrorism now, and in the future.

This G-20 plan takes its lead from a number of United Nations Security Council resolutions, enacted since the September 11th attacks against the United States and includes an all-out effort to identify and freeze terrorist assets quickly through international cooperation, information sharing, and technical assistance.

The Saudi Ambassador to the United States, HRH Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz has stressed the Kingdom's stand along side the world community in the fight against terrorism. Prince Bandar stated that “Saudi Arabia maintains an unwavering stand, without reservations, against the perpetrators of terrorism. We appreciate the support given by the United Nations and the Security Council to the ongoing efforts to confront terrorism and to freeze all its associated financial resources.”