08 July 2020; MEMO: Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) yesterday denied reports that banks intended to freeze the accounts of expatriate workers whose financial transactions exceed their wages.
“There is no truth in the reports that have been circulated across some media networks that the kingdom’s banks were directed to freeze accounts of expatriate workers whose transactions had exceeded the prevalent wages of their jobs,” SAMA said on Twitter.
“All banks and financial institutions will continue to apply procedures with due diligence when it comes to handling their customers’ accounts,” the bank added, stressing that the news was “groundless”.
There are about 10.5 million foreign workers in Saudi Arabia, according to official data.
The news comes as the coronavirus pandemic has left employees and expatriates in the kingdom worried about job stability,with Riyadh imposing a series of measures to mitigate the economic impact of the virus over the past few months.
