Saudis detained Jordan billionaire for ‘questioning’
AMMAN: Sabih alMasri, Jordan’s most influential businessman and the chairman of its largest lender, Arab Bank, was detained in Saudi Arabia for questioning after a business trip to Riyadh, family sources and friends said yesterday.
Masri’s detention, which follows the biggest purge of the Saudi kingdom’s affluent elite in its modern history, has sent shockwaves through business circles in Jordan and the Palestinian territories, where the billionaire has major investments.
A Saudi citizen of Palestinian origin, Masri was detained last Wednesday hours before he was planning to leave after he chaired meetings of companies he owns, and only released to his home in Riyadh late last night. It was believed he might be allowed to leave the country.
He is the founder of Saudi Astra Group, which has wide interests in diversified industries ranging from agroindustry to telecommunications, construction and mining across the region.
‘‘Masri was heading to the airport and they told him to stay where you are and they picked him up,’’ a source familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named, said.
He cancelled a dinner in Amman on Thursday to which he had invited board members of Arab Bank and business associates on his return.
Masri could not be reached for comment. The Saudi authorities did not respond to requests for comment.
Confidants said Masri had been warned not to travel to the Saudi capital after mass arrests of Saudi royals, ministers and businessmen in early November.
‘‘He has been answering questions about his business and partners,’’ a source familiar with the matter said.
Reasons for Masri’s detention were not clear but political sources said the Saudis might have used him to put pressure on Jordan’s King Abdullah not to attend a Muslim summit last week to discuss United States President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The Jordanian monarch attended the Istanbul summit, however. He is a custodian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem and has been vocal in criticising Trump over his decision on Jerusalem.
Saudi Arabia, whose relations with the US have warmed with Trump taking a harder line against its archrival Iran than his predecessor, appears to have taken a softer line on the decision on Jerusalem.
Masri, who comes from a prominent merchant family from Nablus in the Israelioccupied West Bank, amassed a fortune from partnering with influential Saudis in a major catering business to supply troops during the USled military operation to retake Kuwait from Iraq in the
❛ He is a custodian of
Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem and has been
vocal in criticising Trump over his decision
on Jerusalem
—
A discreet source
1991 Gulf War.
Reports of his detention surfaced on Friday in the media in Jordan where Masri’s multibilliondollar investments in hotels and banking are a cornerstone of the economy.
He was elected chairman of Arab Bank in 2012 after the resignation of Abdel Hamid Shoman whose family had founded the bank in Jerusalem in 1930.
The United Nations Security Council is considering a draft resolution that would insist any decisions on the status of Jerusalem have no legal effect and must be rescinded, after Trump recognised the city as Israel’s capital.
The onepage Egyptiandrafted text, which was circulated to the 15member council on Saturday and seen by Reuters, does not specifically mention the US or Trump. Diplomats said it had broad support but would likely be vetoed by Washington.
The council could vote early this week, diplomats said. A resolution needs nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the US, France, Britain, Russia or China to pass. — Reuters
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