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Saudi Arabia to Open Stock Market to Foreign Financial Institutions

Client Alert | 1 min read | 07.23.14

On July 22, 2014, the Saudi Arabian Capital Market Authority (CMA) announced that foreign financial institutions will be permitted to buy and sell stocks listed on the Saudi stock market in accordance with applicable CMA rules. Next month, the CMA plans to release draft proposed rules governing the investment by foreign financial institutions in eligible listed stocks and then solicit opinions and suggestions from investors and other interested parties on the CMA's proposed rules. Opinions and proposals on the CMA's draft proposed rules will be welcome for a period of 90 days. The CMA indicated that it will review the opinions and proposals concerning the draft proposed rules by the end of 2014, check the readiness of the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) to implement the finalized rules, and coordinate with the relevant Saudi government authorities prior to adopting the finalized rules. The CMA plans to open the Saudi stock market to investment by foreign financial institutions in the first half of 2015.


Insights

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....