The Makkah General Court issued a ruling of SAR 2.2 billion ($586 million) in favor of the State Properties General Authority (SPGA) after the latter had paid the amounts for the confiscation of two real estate properties in Makkah.
Governor of the SPGA, Ehsan bin Abbas Bafakih, said the lawsuit is the first of its kind in terms of size, according to a statement on Tuesday.
He reiterated that the authority will continue applying transparency, justice and governance standards with regard to ownership confiscation criteria. In addition, it will put in place regulations to evaluate properties and achieve its missions in preserving the state’s properties and protecting public money.
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), the Kingdom’s central bank, meanwhile, imposed penalties on 30 financial institutions due to violations of “responsible finance principles” for individuals.
It ordered them to take corrective measures otherwise SAMA is entitled to take the necessary regulatory measures against them, banning them from offering the responsible finance products.
In an official statement on Tuesday, SAMA said its move was a result of evidence it found against the listed financial institutions having violated responsible finance principles for individuals.
The violations are related to the percentage of credit obligations individual clients pay monthly from their total monthly income when they obtain financing products.
SAMA stressed that financial institutions under its supervision must comply with all regulations and instructions in force in the Kingdom.
Also, SAMA announced the licensing of three payments companies as payment institutions (PI).
In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency, SAMA said that Skyband and Foodics were licensed as PIs through point of sales services, while NoonPay received the license as a PI through e-commerce payment gateway services.
Following this, the total number of fintech companies licensed by SAMA in the payment services increased to 11.
