RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor has said he will pursueextradition for corruption suspects living abroad as part of atwo-month-old crackdown that has already netted princes and tycoons.

Evidence is being collected against “fugitives” in order to issueindictments against them and request that foreign governments return themto the kingdom, Saud al-Muajab told Arrajol magazine in an interviewpublished on Thursday.

It was not clear how many people are being targeted, or in which countries.

Saudi security forces have rounded up dozens of members of the politicaland business elite, holding them in Riyadh’s opulent Ritz Carlton hotel onthe orders of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The move was billed as a war on rampant corruption but also widely seen byanalysts as helping Prince Mohammed consolidate his grip on power afterousting his cousin as heir to the throne in the summer.

Saudi officials are negotiating settlements with detainees, saying they aimto claw back some $100 billion of funds that rightfully belong to the state.

Muajab said last month that most detainees had agreed to settlements inorder to avoid prosecution while the rest could be held for several moremonths.

He told Arrajol that those who end up in court will be permitted to hirelawyers to defend them during the investigation and trial phases.