Saudi Investigation Recovers $107B Linked to Corruption Cases

Corruption is Everywhere - and Definitely in Saudi Arabia

By Sommer Brokaw

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered an anti-corruption crackdown that's recovered $107 billion in assets, a report said Wednesday. File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo

(UPI) -- Investigators in Saudi Arabia said they've recovered $107 billion stemming from a number of corruption cases that were exposed by a year-long investigation.

An anti-corruption committee submitted its final report Saudi King Salman Wednesday. It showed the money was recovered in assets from corruption cases including real estate, securities and cash.

The inquiry was ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in November 2017 and led to the detention of many high-profile Saudi individuals for months at Riyadh's Ritz-Carlton hotel.

The report said 381 people were subpoenaed by investigators, and some testified. Eighty-seven people confessed to charges that resulted in settlements, the royal court said.

Due to existing criminal charges, the public prosecutor refused to settle the cases of 56 people. Eight have been referred to public prosecution for further legal action after refusing to settle.

Those detained without an indictment were released, the court said.

The committee said it has completed the work and was granted permission by the king to close the investigation.

King Salman pledged the nation will "continue its efforts to preserve integrity, combat corruption, and empower law enforcement and other relevant state bodies so that they are able to effectively practice their role in preserving public funds."

'Preserving integrity' assumes it was there to begin with. $107bn worth of corruption makes it obvious it never was.

It would be interesting to know what motivated bin Salman to clean up the corruption. Could it be his religion? Could it simply be money? If it's religion, how does that fit with his, almost certain, ordering the death of Jamal Khashoggi? 

Backlash Begins Against Crown Prince's Reforms in Saudi Arabia

It was just a matter of time before the many religious extremists in Saudi Arabia began to speak out against the westernization, or modernization of the Kingdom by Crown Prince bin Salman. If he doesn't reverse his course, and I seriously doubt he will, then his life is in great danger by the Salafists who have held much power for a very long time.

Al-Qaeda warns Saudi crown prince over replacing mosques

with cinemas

People inside the first Saudi Arabia cinema in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on January 13, 2018. © Reem Baeshen / Reuters

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has reportedly warned Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman over his reforms, saying that reinstating movie theaters and bringing WWE wrestlers to the country were sinful projects.

The Sunni terrorist group said that Mohammad bin Salman replaced mosques with cinemas and gave up on religious texts in a statement on its Madad news bulletin, cited by SITE Intelligence Group. The influence of atheist and secular views has paved the way for corruption and moral degradation in Saudi Araba, the group said in its statement.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman

AQAP was especially unhappy about the WWE Royal Rumble event, which took place in the Kingdom in April. It said the American wrestlers exposed their private parts and wore signs of the cross before the mixed crowd of Muslim men and women. 

Other signs of degradation include daily concerts, movie screenings, and circus shows, the jihadists added.

Since becoming crown prince a year ago, bin Salman has introduced a range of reforms aimed at the democratization of the ultra-conservative Muslim state, including lifting a ban on female drivers, reintroducing concerts and cinemas, as well as allowing women to attend football games. However, the country’s course was called into question in late May after the arrest of over a dozen mostly female activists calling for the lifting of guardianship rules that require Saudi women to receive permission from a male relative before making important life decisions.

Bin Salman is also responsible for a massive “anti-corruption” crackdown last year, which saw over 200 Saudi princes, ministers, and officials arrested in a move that, analysts say, was actually an attempt to consolidate power and extort money from the wealthy.

Yemen

AQAP has gained momentum due to the ongoing conflict in Yemen, in which Saudi Arabia and its allies became involved back in 2015. Riyadh has been fighting the Shia Houthi rebels with the aim of re-instating ousted President Mansour Hadi to power.

Since then, nearly 6,400 civilians have been killed and over 10,000 injured, the UN said in early May, adding that “the vast majority of these civilian casualties were as a result of airstrikes carried out by the Saudi-led Coalition.”

After more than three years of fighting, Yemen is facing a massive humanitarian crisis. More than 22.2 million people in the country are in need of assistance, with 60 percent of the population lacking food and more than half left without basic medical services, according to the UN.