Collecting personal commercial dues via ‘Wamd’ and ‘Link’ is forbidden
As part of intensified regulatory measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, banks have expanded their monitoring of funds transferred through the ‘Wamd’ and ‘Links’ services. The scrutiny now extends to any unusual inflows into individual customer accounts — even single, one-time transactions — if the amounts appear significant or inconsistent with the account holder’s financial profile.
According to informed sources quoted by Al-Rai, regulatory authorities have increased oversight of commercial transactions conducted through personal accounts, particularly those used to deposit business proceeds via ‘Wamd’ or ‘Links.’
Transfers that exceed the customer’s declared income in the bank’s Know Your Customer (KYC) data by notable margins are being closely examined.
In such cases, customers are first questioned by their respective banks. If their explanations fail to justify the source of funds, the matter is escalated to the Financial Investigations Unit (FIU) for further review — especially when the deposits clearly do not match the individual’s recorded income.
The sources emphasized that personal accounts must not be used for business or commercial transactions, revealing that investigations have already been launched against individuals whose account activity showed inflows exceeding their reported income.
Some were found to be receiving proceeds from their employers’ business operations and were subsequently required to sign formal pledges not to use personal accounts for commercial transfers.
