SAMA Mandates Wathiq Integration For Beneficial Ownership Verification

On 20/09/1447H (corresponding to 9 March 2026), the Saudi Central Bank issued Circular No. 472047799, requiring all financial institutions under its supervision to integrate with the Ministry of Commerce's "Wathiq" platform for beneficial ownership verification.

The circular is issued pursuant to the Anti-Money Laundering Law (Royal Decree No. M/20 dated 05/02/1439H), the Counter-Terrorism Financing Law (Royal Decree No. M/21 dated 12/02/1439H) and the Beneficial Owner Rules (Ministerial Decision No. 99 dated 05/06/1447H).

What this requires

Financial institutions must:

• integrate Wathiq into their customer due diligence processes;
• verify beneficial ownership information against the platform; and