Saudi recovers billions in anti-graft drive
DAVOS, January 26, 2018
Saudi Arabia has recovered billions of dollars from businessmen and other citizens accused of graft in the anti-corruption campaign underway in the Kingdom, Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan was quoted as saying.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, he declined to confirm earlier reports that the government had netted $100 billion from the anti-graft drive, said the Arab News report. “I cannot comment on that figure, but yes we have recovered some," he said.
“But everybody is equal before the law and that is what has been happening. These are very smart people. They do not just have things in bank accounts, so we’re unlikely to recover cash but there will be assets inside and outside Saudi Arabia,” he said.
He said that the recovered assets would be used to pay for items of national expenditure for Saudi citizens, such as the Citizens’ Account and the recent economic stimulus package.
Al-Jadaan’s comments came in a WEF session entitled “Building Saudi Arabia’s future economy,” featuring leading economic policymakers and Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of US private equity investor Blackstone.
Asked if the anti-corruption drive would deter foreign investment in the Kingdom, Al-Jadaan said: “Should people be worried about coming to Saudi Arabia? Absolutely not.
“It is the quality and the cost of your proposition that will determine whether you are successful in doing business in Saudi Arabia, not how much you pay in bribes.”
