29 Mar 2024
Saturday 23 December 2017 - 12:11
Story Code : 287373

Report: Saudi Arabia pressing billionaire prince to fork out $6 billion

FNA - Saudi Arabian authorities are reportedly pressuring a billionaire prince whom they have detained as part of a purge to pay up a whopping USD six billion to secure his release, according to a report.

Citing people familiar with the issue,TheWall Street Journalreported on Friday that Prince al-Waleed bin Talal, a billionaire nephew of late King Abdullah, is now being pressured to pay USD six billion to be released.


His fortune is estimated byForbesto stand at USD 18.7 billion, which would make him the Middle Easts richest person. His Kingdom Holding, a Riyadh-based investment holding company, owns stakes in hotels like The Four Seasons, Fairmont and Raffles, as well as companies such as News Corp., Disney, 21st Century Fox, Citigroup, GM, Twitter, and Apple.


Dozens of princes, ministers, and former ministers were detained last month on the orders of Saudi Arabias so-called Anti-Corruption Committee, which is headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The detained individuals are facing corruption allegationsbut are widely believed to have been victims of a political purge.


The crackdown in Saudi Arabia is widely believed to be aimed at consolidating the crown princes grip on power; but it is also speculated that the kingdom is seeking to rejuvenate its economy hit hard by the fall in oil prices and a costly and protracted war on Yemen by extorting money from the detainees.


Many of the detainees have been released so far after forking out exorbitant amounts reaching as high as USD one billion.


The money reportedly requested from Waleed bin Talal would bite deeply into his global business empire. The prince is trying to persuade the government to instead accept a large share in his company while still leaving him in charge, theJournals sources said.


Keeping [the empire] under his control, thats his battle, one person said.He wants a proper investigation. It is expected that al-Waleed will give MBS a hard time, another said, referring to the crown prince by his initials.


The sources also suggested that Waleed bin Talal was not giving up without a fight.


Salah Al-Hejailan, a lawyer who maintains contact with al-Waleeds family, meanwhile, said that there are no formal accusations against the prince, and that the prosecutor would only open a judicial case against him if no understanding is reached.


Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, who has attempted to portray the whole process as an anti-corruption fight, has meanwhile been splurging money abroad himself.


Earlier in the month, it was reported that bin Salman had used a proxy to buy Leonardo da Vincis painting the Salvator Mundi, which sold for a record $450 million at auction, and a yacht for $500 million.


Last Saturday, an investigation byThe New York Timesnamed Salman as the owner of the Chateau Louis XIV, a mansion outside Paris, which had been sold to him for more than USD 300 million back in 2015.



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