RIYADH CAN RECOVER OVER US$100b IN GRAFT CASES
Talks with suspects likely to wrap up by end of month, says official
SAUDI authorities will likely recover more than US$100 billion (RM394 billion) in settlement agreements with corruption suspects in a probe that has implicated dozens of princes and billionaires, said a senior government official.
Talks with suspects held at the Ritz Carlton in Riyadh were expected to wrap up by the end of the month, and those yet to reach deals would be referred to prosecutors, said the official.
Authorities had agreed to drop charges against about 90 suspects who were released, said attorney-general Sheikh Saud Al Mojeb late on Sunday.
About 95 others were still at the Ritz, he said, including five who were weighing settlement proposals. The rest were reviewing evidence presented against them, he said.
The hotel has been taking bookings as of February 14, more than three months after it turned into a gilded prison for the kingdom’s richest people, including billionaire Prince Alwaleed Talal.
The purge, led by Crown Prince Mohammed Salman, reverberated across board rooms, financial markets and world capitals as bankers, analysts and diplomats sought to assess its impact on the biggest Arab economy.
Al Mojeb, who declined to discuss individual cases, defended the probe against criticism over a lack of transparency in the process for determining payments to secure freedom.
“We are in a new era,” he said. “Corruption will be eradicated. The campaign against corruption won’t stop.”
The settlement payments being processed were a combination of cash, real estate, stocks and other asset classes.
Only a handful of those still detained at the hotel would likely reach an agreement with the authorities, said the official.
About 350 people have been summoned for questioning since King Salman ordered the antigraft probe on November 4 last year.
Many were invited as witnesses or to provide information, with some spending only a few hours or less at the Ritz, said the official. Bloomberg