Translated material
A prince who is one of the 100 richest people in the world has been released in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi prince al-Waleed bin Talal, who had been in custody at the Ritz Carlton in Riyadh since November, was released on January 27.
According to Reuters, he was released after entering into an agreement with the prosecutor's office, which is conducting a large-scale investigation into corruption. The amount of the payment that al-Waleed bin Talal could make is not called.
The prince himself, shortly before his release, told Reuters that "there are no charges against him." “There are only discussions between me and the government,” he said.
The prince called his detention the result of a misunderstanding and said he supported the reforms initiated by the crown prince.
- Prince al-Waleed bin Talal, 62, is the founder and owner of Kingdom Holding Company, an investment company. Forbes, as of January 27, estimates his fortune at $ 17.4 billion and puts him in 79th place in the list of the richest people in the world (in the 2017 ranking, he was in 45th place).
- Al-Waleed bin Talal was one of 200 wealthy people who were detained in Saudi Arabia in early November as part of an anti-corruption investigation. Among them were other members of the royal family, as well as officials and businessmen.
- According to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, most of those arrested agreed, as part of the deal he proposed, to transfer part of their assets to the state - a total of about $ 100 billion. As of the end of January, about 90 people have already been released; 95 remain in custody.
- The anti-corruption campaign in Saudi Arabia coincided with the announcement of the Vision 2030 project, which aims to rebuild the country's economy and overcome dependence on oil. The detention of 200 powerful people was also discussed in the media as an attempt by Muhammad bin Salman, who became crown prince in 2017, to weaken his rivals.