Saudi
Arabian royals, ministers and businessmen are being targeted in what has been
described as the kingdom’s biggest anti-corruption purge in its modern history.
Dozens of
top Saudis have been detained by police in a crackdown that the attorney
general described as “phase one”. The list includes billionaire investor Prince
Alwaleed bin Talal.
As reported
by the Reuters news agency, the purge is the latest in a series of dramatic
steps by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to assert Saudi influence
internationally and amass more power for himself at home.
The
campaign lengthens an already daunting list of challenges undertaken by the
32-year-old since his father, King Salman, ascended the throne in 2015,
including going to war in Yemen, cranking up Riyadh’s confrontation with
arch-foe Iran and reforming the economy to lessen its reliance on oil.
Both allies
and adversaries are quietly astounded that a kingdom once obsessed with
stability has acquired such a taste for assertive – some would say impulsive –
policy-making.
“The
kingdom is at a crossroads: Its economy has flatlined with low oil prices; the
war in Yemen is a quagmire; the blockade of Qatar is a failure; Iranian
influence is rampant in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq; and the succession is a
question mark,” wrote ex-CIA official Bruce Riedel.
“It is the
most volatile period in Saudi history in over a half-century.”
According
to Reuters, the crackdown has drawn no public opposition within the kingdom
either on the street or social media. Many ordinary Saudis applauded the
arrests, the latest in a string of domestic and international moves asserting
the prince’s authority.
Prominent
Saudi columnist Jamal Kashoggi applauded the campaign, but warned: “He is
imposing very selective justice.”
“The
crackdown on even the most constructive criticism – the demand for complete
loyalty with a significant ‘or else’ – remains a serious challenge to the crown
prince’s desire to be seen as a modern, enlightened leader,” he wrote in the
Washington Post.
“The buck stops at the leader’s door. He is
not above the standard he is now setting for the rest of his family, and for
the country.”
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/saudi-royals-ministers-swept-anti-corruption-crackdown/