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Saudi Arabia to Open Stock Market to Foreign Financial Institutions – Timeline Announced

Client Alert | 1 min read | 04.17.15

On July 22, 2014, the Saudi Arabian Capital Market Authority (CMA) announced that qualified foreign financial institutions would be permitted to buy and sell stocks listed on the Saudi stock market in accordance with rules to be adopted by the CMA. The CMA subsequently released its Draft Rules for Qualified Foreign Financial Institutions' Investment in Listed Shares (the Draft Rules) and solicited opinions and suggestions from investors and other interested parties on the Draft Rules.

Click here to continue reading a brief summary of the Draft Rules.

On April 16, 2015, the CMA announced that it has now adopted the following timeline to permit foreign financial institutions to buy and sell stocks listed on the Saudi stock market:

  1. Final Rules will be approved and published on 15/7/1436H (corresponding to May 4, 2015G);
  2. The Final Rules will be effective starting from 14/8/1436H (corresponding to June 1, 2015G); and
  3. Qualified foreign financial institutions shall be allowed to invest in listed shares starting from 28/8/1436H (corresponding to June 15, 2015G).

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25

A Sign of What’s to Come? Court Dismisses FCA Retaliation Complaint Based on Alleged Discriminatory Use of Federal Funding

On November 7, 2025, in Thornton v. National Academy of Sciences, No. 25-cv-2155, 2025 WL 3123732 (D.D.C. Nov. 7, 2025), the District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation complaint on the basis that the plaintiff’s allegations that he was fired after blowing the whistle on purported illegally discriminatory use of federal funding was not sufficient to support his FCA claim. This case appears to be one of the first filed, and subsequently dismissed, following Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s announcement of the creation of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative on May 19, 2025, which “strongly encourages” private individuals to file lawsuits under the FCA relating to purportedly discriminatory and illegal use of federal funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in violation of Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (Jan. 21, 2025). In this case, the court dismissed the FCA retaliation claim and rejected the argument that an organization could violate the FCA merely by “engaging in discriminatory conduct while conducting a federally funded study.” The analysis in Thornton could be a sign of how forthcoming arguments of retaliation based on reporting allegedly fraudulent DEI activity will be analyzed in the future....

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