‘Prison hotel’ reopens again
PURGE WINDS DOWN: BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TAKEN
Detentions of Saudi business elite members sent shockwaves through the country.
Riyadh
Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel reopened yesterday, more than three months after it was converted into a gilded prison for members of Saudi Arabia’s business and political elite detained in an anti-corruption purge.
The gates of the luxury hotel, where US President Donald Trump stayed during his state visit last year, had been shuttered and patrolled by black-uniformed royal guard units while dozens of princes, former ministers and business tycoons were interrogated inside.
The detainees were removed from the hotel two weeks ago, most released after cutting a deal with the authorities or being exonerated – an apparent sign that the corruption investigation, which sent shockwaves through the business community, was winding down.
A handful of smart-suited businessmen, forced to decamp at other hotels since November, returned to the Ritz yesterday.
“It’s an honour (to be back),” said one foreign consultant as he waited for a luxury car to take him to work.
He said the purge had not left any trace on the 492-room hotel where the lowest rate is 2 439 riyals (R7 800) a night.
Among the most high-profile occupants during the anti-corruption campaign were global investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, once seen as a leading contender for the throne.
Prince Miteb was freed after agreeing to pay over $1 billion, a Saudi official said.
Prince Alwaleed maintained his innocence of any corruption in a Reuters interview hours before his release. A senior Saudi official later said he was freed after reaching a financial settlement, without detailing the terms.
The attorney-general has said the government had arranged to seize more than $106 billion through such agreements – an assertion Reuters has been unable to verify.
Critics decried the campaign as a shakedown and power play by 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is aiming to overhaul the way the deeply conservative kingdom is run and wean it off dependence on oil revenues. – Reuters
Prince says he is innocent but pays settlement