Saudi Arabia detains 11 Princes & Dozens of Ministers in ‘Corruption Crackdown’

The sweeping purge consolidates the power of the Crown Prince and removes potential opponents to his reforms. Saudi Arabia has detained 11 princes as well as several current and former ministers, amid an anti-corruption crackdown by King Salman. Among those to be held was the prominent billionaire businessman Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. The nephew of the Saudi monarch is chairman of Kingdom Holding, one of the largest shareholders in the banking giant Citigroup, which also holds a stake in Twitter. The head of the powerful National Guard and son of the late King Abdullah, Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, was also detained in the sweeping purge which consolidates the power of heir to the throne, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The crackdown came after King Salman announced the creation of a new anti-corruption committee late on Saturday night, headed by 32-year-old Prince Mohammed. It is being said that the committee was created due to the propensity of some people for abuse, putting their personal interest above public interest, and stealing public funds, after long-standing public complaints about abuse of power. King Salman said in broadcast comments: “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. This will be applied on those big and small, and we will fear no one.” In what could be viewed as approval of the arrests, the kingdom’s most senior clerics have said it is an Islamic duty to fight corruption. The Saudi government says the newly established committee has the right to issue arrest warrants, impose travel restrictions and freeze bank accounts, as well as trace and prevent the transfer of funds or the liquidation of assets. It says the accounts of those arrested are to be frozen.