Saudi Arabia’s crackdown
The ministers and princes feeling the heat as part of purported anti-corruption drive by the kingdom’s heir apparent.
Saudi Arabia has dismissed a number of senior ministers and detained nearly a dozen princes as part of a purported investigation by a new anti-corruption committee.
Heir apparent Mohammed bin Salman‘s most ambitious move came late on Saturday when he fired senior ministers and had dozens of the country’s richest men detained, ostensibly on the grounds of combating corruption.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 items- list 1 of 4What is LNG and what is it used for?
- list 2 of 4Iran to Lebanon: Four million people displaced by US-Israeli war
- list 3 of 4How does the current global oil crisis compare with the 1973 oil embargo?
- list 4 of 4Mapping the world’s most strategic straits and channelsThis article will be opened in a new browser window
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the world’s wealthiest businessmen who owns investment firm Kingdom Holding, was among those held.
The senior ministers who were sacked include Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, the head of the National Guard, and Adel Faqih, the economy minister.
Waleed al-Ibrahim, chairman of the Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC), one of the region’s largest media companies, and construction magnate Bakr Binladin of the Saudi Binladin group were among those detained.
Meanwhile, confusion surrounds the whereabouts of Mohammed bin Salman’s predecessor as crown prince, Mohammed bin Nayef, who has not been seen publicly since June and is rumoured to be under house arrest.
Al Jazeera takes a look at the Saudis caught up in the crackdown and the net worth of each detained individual.
