RIYADH – A source close to MbS told Daily Mail that the Prince is stillbeing closely watched and not really free, as he was released fromdetention on Saturday after he made an undisclosed financial settlementwith the Saudi government.
The source said the 63-year-old Prince, who is a nephew of King Salman binAbdulaziz Al Saud, will have little control over his firm Kingdom HoldingCompany in the future, while bin Talal had claimed that he was expected tokeep control of his global investment company Kingdom Holding without beingrequired to give up assets to the government.
In an exclusive interview with Reuters at his suite at Ritz-Carlton Hotel,bin Talal, one of the richest men in the world, claimed that he had beenwell treated, rejecting reports of mistreatment and of being moved fromRitz-Carlton Hotel to a prison.
The source announced that the footage was organized after Al-Waleed’srelease to show he was being treated well, but was not the full story,confirming reports that Al-Waleed’s family said the prince arrived home onSaturday.
“I have nothing to hide at all. I‘m so comfortable, I‘m so relaxed. I shavehere, like at home. My barber comes here. I‘m like at home, franklyspeaking,” the Prince had said, adding that “I told the government I’d stayas much as they want, because I want the truth to come out on all mydealings and on all things that are around me.”
The source added that “He’s going to be under house arrest, he’s not goingto go anywhere. The plan was always to take all his money and then put himunder house arrest, but they just had to expedite it because of the BBCasking questions”, as the Crown Prince is said to have been angry overa BBC Newsnight documentary which revealed details of Al-Waleed’sincarceration.
Saudi authority had demanded at least $6 billion from the prince to freehim from detention at the Ritz, according to a report.
His fortune is estimated by Forbes to stand at USD 18.7 billion, whichwould make him the Middle East’s richest person. His Kingdom Holding, aRiyadh-based investment holding company, owns stakes in hotels like TheFour Seasons, Fairmont and Raffles, as well as companies such as NewsCorp., Disney, 21st Century Fox, Citigroup, GM, Twitter, and Apple.
Saudi Arabia released all of the 200-or-so powerfulindividuals detained since early November 2017 on corruption charges, as itseems that businessmen and royals have reached deals with thegovernment, according to Reuters citing a Saudi official. Riyadh hadclaimed that trial proceedings would begin soon for those who continue todeny the charges against them.
Dozens of princes, ministers, and former ministers were detained atRiyadh’s luxurious Ritz Carlton hotel on the orders of Saudi Arabia’sso-called Anti-Corruption Committee, which is headed by the Crown Prince.The detained individuals are facing corruption allegations but are widelybelieved to have been victims of a political purge. The royals have alsobeen asked to fork out hefty ransoms reaching billions of dollars in somecases as some have since reached settlements with the government.
The crackdown in Saudi Arabia is widely believed to be aimed atconsolidating the crown prince’s grip on power, but it is also speculatedthat the kingdom is seeking to rejuvenate its economy — hit hard by thefall in oil prices and a costly and protracted war on Yemen — by extortingmoney from the detainees.
Mohammed bin Salman who has attempted to portray the whole process as an“anti-corruption fight,” has meanwhile been splurging money abroad himself.
In December 2017, it was reported that bin Salman had used a “proxy” to buyLeonardo da Vinci’s painting the Salvator Mundi, which sold for a record$450 million at auction, and a yacht for $500 million. Also, aninvestigation named Salman as the owner of the Chateau Louis XIV, a mansionoutside Paris, which had been sold to him for more than USD 300 millionback in 2015.