Saudi Arabia arrests 11 princes and sacks head of elite National Guard in ‘unprecedented’ purge
The dramatic purge occurred as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman steps up his reform drive for a post-oil era
Saudi Arabia has arrested dozens of senior figures including princes, ministers and a top business tycoon, in what authorities hailed on Sunday as a “decisive” anti-corruption sweep as the kingdom’s crown prince consolidates power.
Prominent billionaire Al-Waleed bin Talal, one of the world’s richest men, was among the 11 princes arrested late on Saturday, reports said, immediately after a new anti-corruption commission headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was established by royal decree.
“Laws will be applied firmly on everyone who touched public money and didn’t protect it or embezzled it, or abused their power and influence,” King Salman said in comments aired on state television. “This will be applied on those big and small, and we will fear no one.”
Separately, the head of the Saudi National Guard, once a leading contender to the throne, as well as the navy chief and the economy minister were replaced in a series of high-profile sackings that sent shock waves through the kingdom. A former HSBC executive has now been installed as economy minister.
For many foreigners, Prince Al-Waleed – whose net worth has been estimated by Forbes magazine at US$17 billion – is the face of Saudi business, appearing frequently on international television and in articles on his investments and lifestyle.
A 2013 Forbes magazine profile described his marble-filled, 420-room Riyadh palace, a private Boeing 747 equipped with a throne, and his 120-acre resort on the edge of the Saudi capital with five homes, five artificial lakes and a mini-Grand Canyon.