Saudi purge: Probe spreads into UAE

ABU DHABI/DUBAI: BESIDES HAVING BANK ACCOUNTS, WEALTHY SAUDIS BUY LUXURY APARTMENTS IN DUBAI AND INVEST IN THE EMIRATE’S VOLATILE STOCK MARKET.

Saudi Arabia’s crackdown on corruption has spread beyond its borders as regulators in the United Arab Emirates asked UAE banks for information about Saudi citizens detained in the investigation, a possible prelude to freezing their accounts.

The UAE central bank has requested commercial banks and finance companies in the UAE to provide details of the accounts of 19 Saudis, commercial bankers told Reuters on Thursday, declining to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Almost all of the 19, including billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and former National Guard chief Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, are known to be among dozens of senior officials and businessmen detained in the corruption inquiry.

Commercial bankers said UAE authorities had not explained why they wanted the information, but believed the authorities were acting at the behest of the Saudi government, which has said it aims to recover billions of dollars of illicit assets identified in its investigation.

The UAE, particularly its most commercially prominent emirate Dubai, is one of the main places where wealthy Saudis park their money abroad. REUTERS