RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the kingdom’s top international businessmen, was released from detention on Saturday, more than two months after he was taken into custody in a sweeping crackdown on corruption.
His release came hours after he told Reuters in an interview at Riyadh’s opulent Ritz-Carlton hotel that he expected to be cleared of any wrongdoing and be freed within days.
A senior Saudi official said Prince Alwaleed was freed after he reached a financial settlement with the attorney general.
“The attorney general has approved this morning the settlement that was reached with Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, and the prince returned home at 1100 a.m. (0800 GMT),” the official told Reuters, without giving details of the terms.
The decision to free him, and the release of several other well-known tycoons on Friday, suggested the main part of the corruption probe was winding down after it sent shockwaves through Saudi Arabia’s business and political establishment.
In his first interview since being detained, conducted hours before his release, Prince Alwaleed told Reuters he maintained his innocence of any corruption in talks with the authorities.
He said he expected to keep full control of his global
investment firm Kingdom Holding Co without being
required to hand assets to the state. He said he had been able
to communicate with executives at his business while detained.
Prince Alwaleed, who is in his early 60s, described his
confinement as a “misunderstanding” and said he supported reform
efforts by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“There are no charges. There are just some discussions
between me and the government,” he said.
Prince Alwaleed had been confined at the Ritz-Carlton since
early November, along with dozens of other senior officials and
businessmen, part of the crown prince’s plan to reform oil
superpower Saudi Arabia and consolidate his position.
When asked if the attorney general was convinced of Prince
Alwaleed’s innocence, the senior Saudi official said:
“I will not negate or confirm what he says. Generally this
falls back to those who concluded the settlement, and for sure
there is no settlement unless there are violations, and they are
not concluded without the accused admitting it in writing and
promising not to repeat it.”
The source declined to give further details, but confirmed
that Prince Alwaleed would remain head of Kingdom Holding.
A Gulf banker who deals with Saudi Arabia said the
authorities appeared keen to conclude the probe partly because
foreign investors were concerned their assets or local business
partners could be targeted in the wide-ranging crackdown.
Prince Alwaleed’s detention was particularly worrying for
foreigners because of his international prominence as an
investor in top Western companies such as Twitter and
Citigroup, and in top hotels including the George V in
Paris and the Plaza in New York, the banker said.
“The government is signalling that it wants to move to a new
phase now, away from the crackdown and into other economic
reforms,” the banker said.
Outside Prince Alwaleed’s Riyadh palace, dozens of cars
lined the entrances as a huge Saudi flag flapped above. Guards
cracked jokes and drank coffee. His office said the prince was
out visiting family, but declined to give any details.
The attorney general said earlier this week that 90
detainees had been released after their were charges dropped,
while others traded cash, real estate and other assets for their
freedom. The authorities were still holding 95 people, he said.
Some are expected to be put on trial.
An official Saudi source said on Friday that several
prominent businessmen had reached financial settlements with the
authorities, including Waleed al-Ibrahim, owner of regional
television network MBC, who was released. Terms of his
settlement were not revealed.
Saudi authorities have said they expect to raise some $100
billion for the government through such settlements – a huge
windfall for the state, which has seen its finances squeezed by
low oil prices. Some private analysts think that target will be
hard to hit, given how many suspects have seen charges dropped.
Allegations against Prince Alwaleed included money
laundering, bribery and extorting officials, a Saudi official
told Reuters in November. The prince’s net worth has been
estimated by Forbes magazine at $17 billion.
While declaring his innocence in the Reuters interview, the
prince appeared greyer and thinner than in his last public
appearance, a television interview in October, and had grown a
beard while in detention.
“I have nothing to hide at all. I’m so comfortable, I’m so
relaxed. I shave here, like at home. My barber comes here. I’m
like at home, frankly speaking,” he said, adding he had been
able to communicate with family members while in detention.
He granted the 30-minute interview to Reuters, including a
tour of his suite, partly to disprove rumours about mistreatment
and that he had been moved from the hotel to a prison.
Prince Alwaleed showed off the comforts of his gold-accented
private office, dining room and kitchen, which was fully stocked
with his preferred vegetarian meals.
In the corner of his office sat tennis shoes, which he said
he used regularly for exercise. A television played business
news programmes, and a mug with an image of his own face on it
was perched on the desk.
After being released, Prince Alwaleed said, he would stay in
Saudi Arabia and would return to the challenge of juggling his
global business interests.
“I will not leave Saudi Arabia, for sure. This is my
country.”
