Saudi Arabia arrested 11 princes, including a prominent billionaire, and dozens of current and former ministers, reports said, in a sweeping crackdown as the kingdom’s young crown prince consolidates power.
Separately, the head of the Saudi National Guard, once a leading contender to the throne, as well as the navy chief and the economy minister were replaced in a series of high-profile sackings that sent shock waves in the kingdom.
The crackdown was reported immediately after a new anti-corruption commission, headed by powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was established by royal decree.
Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television reported that the princes, four current and dozens of former ministers, were arrested as the commission launched a probe into old cases such as floods that devastated the Red Sea city of Jeddah in 2009.
Saudi billionaire Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal was among those arrested, Saudi news websites said though there was no official confirmation.
Meanwhile, the kingdom’s top council of clerics tweeted that anti-corruption efforts were as important as the fight against terrorism, essentially giving religious backing to the crackdown.
Shares in Kingdom Holding, 95 percent of which is owned by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, dived 9.9 percent as the Saudi stock exchange opened Sunday after reports of his arrest.
The Saudi Tadawul All-Shares Index also dropped 1.6pc only a minute after the start of trading on the Arab world’s largest stock market following news of the crackdown. The Kingdom Holding share price did not slide further because, under the rules of the Saudi exchange, stocks are only allowed to fall a maximum of 10pc in a single trading session.
Analysts said many of those detained were resistant to Prince Mohammed’s aggressive foreign policy that includes the boycott of Gulf neighbour Qatar as well as some of his bold policy reforms, including privatising state assets and cutting subsidies.
These recent developments show that the Kingdom is undergoing with dramatic changes after Muhammad bin Salman replaced Muhammad bin Nayef as the crown prince. To target political opponents under the guise of accountability for vested political gains is not a wise move and it may deepen political crisis in Saudi Arabia. The wrong attitude of Muhammad bin Salman has already created a crisis in the Middle East particularly in Yemen and Qatar. Kingdom should stop its aggressive policies because such steps may produce dire consequences for Muslim World and also for its national interests.
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