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Businesses involved in gold and jewellery trading and account auditing face administrative fines of up to BD50,000 for breaches of Bahrain’s anti-money laundering and terrorist financing rules under a new decision issued by Industry and Commerce Minister Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro.
The penalties range from BD1,000 to BD2,500 for a wide range of compliance failures, including inadequate customer checks, failure to report suspicious transactions, poor record-keeping and breaches of sanctions requirements.
However, the fines rise to between BD25,000 and BD50,000 for dealing with individuals or entities listed locally or internationally for terrorism or money laundering offences, or for failures in internal auditing.
The decision, published in the latest edition of the Official Gazette, also targets cash transactions involving gold and jewellery, with businesses prohibited from selling such items for BD3,000 or more in cash, or the equivalent amount in other currencies.
Traders who fail to obtain a copy of the buyer’s identity card for cash sales exceeding BD2,000, or the equivalent in another currency, also face administrative penalties.
Decision No 46 of 2026 sets out the violations that attract fines under Bahrain’s framework for combating money laundering and terrorist financing in the gold and jewellery trading and account auditing sectors.
Under the decision, which takes immediate effect, businesses can be fined between BD1,000 and BD2,500 for delaying customer due diligence procedures or failing to classify customers according to their risk levels.
The same penalty range applies to failing to establish written internal policies and procedures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, proceeding with transactions when due diligence cannot be completed, or continuing business relationships despite being unable to update customer information.
Failure to provide required documents or information, as well as non-compliance with instructions and circulars issued by the relevant ministry department, are also punishable offences.
Businesses must report suspicious transactions and comply with applicable local and international sanctions lists. Failure to report a business relationship or transaction involving listed individuals or entities, or delays in making such reports, can result in fines.
The rules also penalise knowingly dealing unlawfully with sanctioned persons or entities, as well as breaches involving the freezing or unfreezing of funds and disclosure requirements linked to terrorist lists.
Businesses that fail to respond within prescribed deadlines to inquiries concerning transactions involving local or international sanctions lists are also liable to penalties.
The decision places particular emphasis on maintaining records and ensuring that documents remain available to competent authorities.
Failing to retain documents for five years can attract a fine of between BD1,000 and BD2,500. Destroying documents relating to a business relationship or transaction under investigation by the competent authorities is also listed as a violation.
Businesses are prohibited from informing customers, through any means, that measures are being taken against them.
Violations also include failure to prepare an assessment of the entity’s money laundering and terrorist financing risks, or to update that assessment periodically.
The ministry’s under-secretary is responsible for implementing the decision.
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