11 PRINCES
said billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who owns investment firm Kingdom Holding, and former finance minister Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al-Assaf were detained.
Saudi King Salman Abdulaziz Al-Saud announced on Saturday the creation of an anti-corruption committee chaired by his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television said the body had detained 11 princes, four current ministers and tens of former ministers. The crown prince is spearheading an ambitious economic reform programme that aims to draw more foreign and private sector investment into the kingdom, which is the world’s top oil exporter and the most powerful country in the Gulf Arab region.
King Salman also appointed two new ministers on Saturday to key security and economic posts, removing one of the royal family’s most prominent members as head of the National Guard.
Prince Miteb bin Abdullah was replaced as minister of the National Guard by Khaled bin Ayyaf, while Economy Minister Adel Fakieh was removed in favour of his deputy, Mohammed al-Tuwaijri, according to a royal decree carried by state-run media.
Prince Miteb, son of the late King Abdullah, was once thought to be a leading contender for the throne before the rise of Prince Mohammed two years ago.
The cabinet reshuffle consolidated Prince Mohammed’s control of security institutions that had been headed by powerful branches of the ruling family. He has pledged to go after graft at the highest levels. The new anticorruption body was given broad powers to investigate cases, issue arrest warrants and travel restrictions, and freeze assets.
“The homeland will not exist unless corruption is uprooted and the corrupt are held accountable,” the royal decree said. Reuters