Saudi graft probe settlements may net $100bn: report
RIYADH, January 22, 2018
Saudi authorities will likely recover more than $100 billion in settlement agreements with corruption suspects in a probe that has implicated dozens of princes and billionaires, a senior government official was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.
About 200 people, including billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, were held at the Ritz Carlton in Riyadh on suspicion of graft in November.
Talks with suspects held at the Ritz Carlton in Riyadh are expected to wrap up by the end of the month, and those who don’t reach deals will be referred to prosecutors, Bloomberg quoted the official as saying.
Authorities have already agreed to drop charges against about 90 suspects who were released, Attorney General Sheikh Saud Al Mojeb said in an interview at the hotel late on Sunday. About 95 others were still at the Ritz, he said, including five who were weighing settlement proposals. The rest were reviewing the evidence presented against them, he said.
The hotel is taking bookings as of February 14.
