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11 Saudi princes, 4 ministers arrested as crown prince unleashes crackdown on corruption – report
A newly-established Saudi Arabian committee with sweeping powers to combat corruption has ordered the arrest of at least 11 Saudi princes and four incumbent ministers of the Saudi government, Al-Arabiya reported, citing sources.
The committee was created Saturday by a royal decree of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, published by the Saudi official news agency on Saturday.
The decree appoints the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, to lead the committee, granting it broad powers to fight corruption. The committee is exempted from “laws, regulations, instructions, orders and decision” while performing its wide range of duties, namely “identifying offenses, crimes, persons and entities” complicit in corruption, and gives it the power to impose punitive measures on those caught red-handed. Those include asset freezes, travel bans and arrests.
The committee made its first arrests hours after it was created, detaining 11 princes, four current ministers as well as “tens” of ex-ministers of the Saudi government in connection with newly opened corruption probes, Al-Arabiya reported.
