RIYADH: Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, one of the kingdom’s top international businessmen, was released from detention on Saturday, more than two months after he was taken into custody in a sweeping crackdown on corruption.
His release came hours after he said in an interview at Riyadh’s opulent Ritz-Carlton hotel that he expected to be cleared of any wrongdoing and be freed within days.
A senior Saudi official said Prince Al-Waleed was freed after he reached a financial settlement with the attorney general.
“The attorney general has approved this morning the settlement that was reached with Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, and the prince returned home at 1100am (0800 GMT),” the official said, without giving details of the terms.
The decision to free him, and the release of several other well-known tycoons on Friday, suggested the main part of the corruption probe was winding down after it sent shockwaves through Saudi Arabia’s business and political establishment.
A Gulf banker who deals with Saudi Arabia said the authorities appeared keen to conclude the probe partly because foreign investors were concerned their assets or local business partners could be targeted in the wide-ranging crackdown.
Prince Al-Waleed’s detention was particularly worrying for foreigners because of his international prominence as an investor in top Western companies such as Twitter and Citigroup, and in top hotels including the George V in Paris and the Plaza in New York, the banker said.
“The government is signalling that it wants to move to a new phase now, away from the crackdown and into other economic reforms,” the banker said.
Outside Prince Al-Waleed’s Riyadh palace, dozens of cars lined the entrances as a huge Saudi flag flapped above. Guards cracked jokes and drank coffee. His office said the prince was out visiting family, but declined to give any details.
Prince Al-Waleed had been confined at the Ritz-Carlton since early November, along with dozens of other senior officials and businessmen, part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to reform oil superpower Saudi Arabia and consolidate his position.
The attorney general said earlier this week that 90 detainees had been released after their charges were dropped, while others traded cash, real estate and other assets for their freedom. The authorities were still holding 95 people, he said. Some are expected to be put on trial.
Maintaining innocence
Allegations against Prince Al-Waleed, who is in his early 60s, included money laundering, bribery and extorting officials, a Saudi official said in November. The prince’s net worth has been estimated by Forbes magazine at $17 billion.
In his first interview since he was taken into custody, conducted hours before his release, Prince Al-Waleed said that he had maintained his innocence of any corruption in talks with the authorities.
The prince appeared greyer and thinner than in his last public appearance, a television interview in October, and had grown a beard while in detention.
“I have nothing to hide at all. I’m so comfortable, I’m so relaxed. I shave here, like at home. My barber comes here. I’m like at home, frankly speaking,” he said.
After being released, Prince Al-Waleed said, he would stay in Saudi Arabia and would return to the challenge of juggling his global business interests. “I will not leave Saudi Arabia, for sure. This is my country.”
Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2018