The Saudi “anti-corruption” crackdown led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), which initially netted 11 princes and a few dozen ministers and former ministers, has caught up with hundreds of businessmen, who are being detained in the luxurious Ritz Carlton and other hotels in Riyadh. The Wall Street Journal reports the Crown Prince is targeting an astonishing $800 BILLION in assets believed to be held in 1,700 frozen bank accounts.
The latest speculation, to which we give substantial credence, is that the Crown Prince will top up his coup by having himself crowned King “in a matter of days,” according to our sources. Al-Arabiya, the Saudi-owned pan-Arab television news channel, posted on Twitter on Wednesday that the abdication may be imminent but then deleted the post.
How will this play out further?
Not even the key players probably know. But it is entirely possible – in the midst of feuding in the royal family – that the entire Saudi Monarchy could be overthrown and replaced by a military junta much as happened in Egypt in 1952, when King Faruq was overthrown and replaced by military leaders Muhammad Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser.
Reuters reports that Saudi authorities have questioned 208 people in an anti-corruption investigation and estimate at least $100 billion has been stolen through graft, a top official said on Thursday as the inquiry expanded beyond the kingdom’s borders.
“Based on our investigations over the past three years, we estimate that at least $100 billion has been misused through systematic corruption and embezzlement over several decades,” Attorney-General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb said in a statement.
Anti-corruption authorities have also frozen the bank accounts of Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, one of the most senior members of the House of Saud, and some of his immediate family members. Nayef had been appointed as Crown Prince in 2015 and was first in line to the throne until he was replaced by MBS in June. He is a nephew of King Salman and grandson of the founding monarch King Abdulaziz.
The investigation has spread to the neighboring United Arab Emirates, as the UAE central bank has asked commercial banks and finance companies there to provide details of the accounts of 19 Saudis, commercial bankers told Reuters on Thursday.
The UAE, particularly Dubai, is one of the main places where wealthy Saudis park their money abroad. In addition to bank accounts, they buy luxury apartments and villas in Dubai and invest in the emirate’s volatile stock market.
Some wealthy Saudi individuals have been liquidating assets within Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Gulf countries this week, apparently in an effort to move money out of the region and escape the crackdown, private bankers and fund managers said.
In Riyadh, rich individual investors have been selling equities heavily, although buying by state-linked funds has helped to support the market. In Dubai, shares in real estate developers have sunk as investors worry about the impact on the property market of a pull-out by Saudis.
The UAE commercial bankers said they had not been asked to freeze the Saudi accounts at their institutions, but they believed the central bank’s request for information might be a prelude to such action.
The risk of the accounts being frozen “jeopardises Dubai’s pitch as a private banking centre”, said a Gulf-based banker, adding: “Banks in the UAE are full of Saudi money.”
One senior banker at an international bank with business in Saudi Arabia said his institution had already frozen some accounts, both inside the kingdom and outside it, in response to Saudi government requests.
The bank is conducting its own investigations into accounts linked to people who have been detained, the banker said without elaborating.
Another banker in the region said his institution was receiving more enquiries from Saudi clients about cross-border financial transactions, but it was handling the enquiries with extreme caution as there could be further action by regulators.
When a greedy young, more powerful lion with sharp teeth and claws, arrive the old lion king has no chance.
USA and Israel are more than ready to assist in this self-destruction.
Mahmudur Rahman It is the other way now. Israel wants Saudi to do its dirty work by attacking Lebenon. If Saudi get naive and gets its hand dirty in Lebenon, remember Lebenon is not Yemen, Saudi will get a slap in the face.
Dindo Hamac Dindo nice try but no one is giving that fascist racist Switzerland any mony. That Country has been stealing third world money for years, their people getting fat on other people’s hard earnings.
HI READERS , IT IS LONG OVERDUE !!! .
LOOK AT THIS CROOKS THAT ARE ARRESTED AND WHAT THEY DONE EVILS AND CHEATED THEIR BEST NEIGHBOR — QUATAR — . THEY TRY TO BLACKMAIL THE SULTAN FOR ANOTHER FEW USD BILLIONS BUT THE SULTAN REJUSTED AFTER INFORM USA PRESIDENT AND CIA .
THIS CROOKS HAVE BLACKMAIL EARLY OF OVER USD ONE BILLION PLUS AND STILL GREEDED FOR MORE.THEN SAUDI AND THREE MORE COUNTIES BLOCK QUATAR — AIR , LAND AND SEA ROUTE .
THIS CROOKS THOUGHT THAT COULD KILL AND STAFF THE ENCONOIES OF QUATAR — FAILURE — !!! .
THIS BASTERS DIDNOT KNOW THE SULTAN HAVE THE BACKING OF IRAN , TURKEY , KUWAIT AND USA .
NOW AND LATER THIS YEAR SAIDI AND THE THREE ARAB COUNTIRS WILL MAKE FRIEND BACK WITH QUATAR AND RELATIONSHIPS .
QUATAR WILL HOLD THE WORLD CUP NEXT YEAR IN PEACE AND STRONG AS COMPARE THIS CROOKS THAT ARE DETAILED AND GET KILL AND PRISON. THEN THEY WILL BE POOR AND BANKRUT.
FROM :- DICKSON NG SEK WAH.
EMAIL :- CAPTDICKSON5@GMAIL.COM
Netanyahu will think few times before messing with current Hezbullah I think……The rogues(US,Israel,Saudi) need some good arse grinding,and they will get some..just cant wait to see 😀
Hope and pray no more wars in Middle East,people have suffered enough on sectarian and political dominance
Dindo Hamac world’s largest weapons trader is switzerland
Saudi will remain saudi as it was and is. Miracle is a farcry, at least for decades.
Brotheres against brothers for money… basically greed.
too much danger in KSA..if civil war breaks out..people are getting crazy..better to get out in that place as early as possible/
Qatar and Iran is not stable place to hide their money..only Switzerland is the ideal country to hide your money because it’s a neutral country.
Beginning of the end of the Saudi Royal family.
Lull before the storm. It was policy of power transfer between brothers which ensured continuous rule of the House of Saud. New development may become recipe for disaster. MBS is treading precarious waters. Unity is the need of the hour.
I sincerely hope no war will erupt, especially in the Middle East & Iran. War kills thousands & benefit the weapon producing countries.
A civil war in SA might be brewing
I am sure he is. I share your view. It will all end up as a huge joke
Let’s hope MBS is not just as "refreshing" as Donald Trump…
And the Rothshild office boy Macron went to kiss MBS and collect his pocket money
The $800 Billion will be needed if there will be another proxy war in Lebanon or a war with Iran. The ARAMCO IPO, will get a rock bottom price with all the turmoil in Saudi Arabia. A war with Lebanon or Iran will be another endless war. Qatar too might be up for grabs. Israel and US seem to be ready to assist the Saudis. This is a dream come true for Benjamin Netanyahu. Never a boring moment in the Middle East.
The Salman will be the last Pharoah of Arabia.