Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman<\/a>\u2019s unexpected crackdown has shattered the tranquility of the kingdom.<\/strong><\/p>\n After Saturday\u2019s news emerged that a long list of high-profile Saudi royals, military leaders and multi-billionaires were arrested or confined to their quarters, all seemed to be only an implementation of the crown prince\u2019s\u00a0open threat<\/a>\u00a0that \u201cno-one is above the law, whether it is a prince or a minister.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n The current list of arrests include names like Saudi billionaire Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal<\/a>, one of the most media-loved Saudi businessmen, and Prince Miteb bin Abdullah<\/a>, former head of the Saudi National Guard<\/a>. At the end of the weekend, the impact was clear: The new Saudi power broker isn\u2019t cutting anyone slack.<\/p>\n Just after that, in an effort to clean house in one fell swoop, Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) announced\u2014by royal decree\u2014a new anti-corruption committee.<\/p>\n At the moment, most eyes are on the anti-corruption narrative, which is being pushed by the Saudi government and media. The announcement of the arrests, made over Al Arabiya<\/a>, the Saudi-owned satellite (whose broadcasts are controlled by the state), showed MBS\u2019s willingness to address corruption. Clearly, corruption and a lack of transparency is still a significant issue in Saudi Arabia, and MBS is taking a risk in challenging it.<\/p>\n It seems the crown prince is far from finished, as news has emerged that one of the Arab world\u2019s leading broadcasters, MBC<\/a>, has been put under government control. Part of its management was removed and the owner detained. News is also emerging that even the former Saudi Minister of Oil Ali Al Naimi<\/a>, Saudi Arabia\u2019s media face for decades, has been forcibly confined to his quarters.<\/p>\n Other sources state that a travel ban has been imposed for Saudi officials, including some figures within Saudi Aramco<\/a>. The latter have been informed that travel requests are currently on hold. More interesting is that the Saudi Monetary Agency<\/a> (SAMA) has ordered a freezing of accounts of individuals linked to corruption. SAMA reiterated the respective accounts of companies have currently not been frozen.<\/p>\n Regarding the Saudi royals, most princes and princesses are currently prohibited to travel, except with the permission of King Salman<\/a>. Foreign money transfer also has currently been limited to $50,000 per month, with a two-month limit.\u00a0 Security sources indicate that Saudi princes in Tabuk<\/a>, Eastern Province<\/a> and Mecca<\/a> have been put under house arrest. At the same time, Saudi special forces have moved to surround the residencies of Prince Mishal bin AbdulAziz<\/a>, Prince AbdulAziz bin Fahd<\/a> and Prince Khalid bin Sultan<\/a>.<\/p>\n These developments are going further than the original anti-corruption crackdown. The already long-foreseen power struggle to take the Saudi throne seems to be entering its second phase. Crown Prince bin Salman seems\u2014supported by signs of support coming from Washington, Moscow and even Arab neighbors\u2014to take the chance to overwhelm his local opponents by shockwave tactics. Some indicate that they expect a possible change of guard at the top in the next couple of days.<\/p>\n Each day\u2019s developments grow more significant. MBS was able to increase his own position dramatically this weekend, and continues to remove remaining opposition by the dozen.<\/p>\n Although short-term volatility could occur, overall stability and change inside of the kingdom is to be expected, as MBS and his supporters are holding not only the military and security forces in their hands, but have also gained the trust and support of the majority of the Saudis.<\/p>\n MBS has the same charisma as John F. Kennedy<\/a> had when took the U.S. presidential office.\u00a0 The crown prince has gained an almost movie-star popularity under the young Saudis, who form the majority of the population.<\/p>\n These current developments didn\u2019t come out of nowhere. The basis for the anti-corruption crackdown was supported by the success of the Future Investment Initiative 2017<\/a>. Dubbed \u201cDavos in the Desert<\/a>\u201d, this high-profile gathering of the world\u2019s leading financial power brokers happened in Riyadh<\/a> last week.<\/p>\n At the event, MBS received the green light to pursue his Saudi Vision 2030<\/a> dream to wean the kingdom from its hydrocarbon addiction. In the same week, U.S. president Trump<\/a> and his administration increased their support for the Saudi hardline position to Iran, IRGC<\/a> and Hezbollah<\/a>. Washington also increased its pressure on Qatar to soon move away from Tehran.<\/p>\n These regional and geopolitical developments have bolstered the views of the MBS to pursue his strategy of confronting Iran and its proxies. It\u2019s no coincidence that the start of the crackdown popped up at the same time that Lebanese prime minister Hariri<\/a> took refuge in the kingdom. Thus, the link with Hezbollah-Iran and Lebanon isn\u2019t difficult.<\/p>\n Without trying to assess the present situation as dire and threatening, all signs show that the region, under influence of Saudi\u2019s new de-facto ruler, is heading toward a full confrontation with Iran. The internal Game of Thrones<\/a> of Saudi royals is now being slowly but obviously transformed to a full-scale showdown with Iran and its proxies.<\/p>\n Saudi Arabia\u2014supported by the UAE, Bahrain and likely Egypt\u2014was openly given the green light by Trump\u2019s secretary of treasury and secretary of state. The silence on the Russian front indicates a possible change of heart in Putin<\/a>\u2019s coterie, as well. Saudi Arabia and others openly stated that Iran has committed several acts of war against the kingdom. The ballistic missile attack by Houthi<\/a> rebels on the airport of Riyadh is directly linked to an act of war by Iran, perceived to be the provider of these systems.<\/p>\n The coming days are crucial for the region\u2019s stability and future. The ongoing power struggle in the kingdom, which is currently openly on the streets, not only targets corruption, but is a move to consolidate power by Crown Prince bin Salman. His movement is clear, and should perhaps be supported in full, as it could lead the change that young Saudis want. The outcome will decide the further steps needed by all parties involved.<\/p>\n Considering the signs, the most positive outcome would be a consolidation of the position of MBS as the main power broker, leading to a full implementation of Saudi Vision 2030. In the short term, this won\u2019t prohibit the Saudis and their allies to react and act with full military power against the Iranian power projections and its proxies in Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq.<\/p>\n Stability and security in Saudi Arabia is seen as a leading factor in MBS\u2019s power strategies. Confrontations inside and outside the kingdom aren\u2019t seen as a no-go area. After decades of listening to U.S., European or Russian advice, MBS is creating his own future. Short-term financial or economic instability and geopolitical risks have increased substantially in the last 24 hours.<\/p>\n This material belongs to: Los Angeles Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n Behind the walls of one of his many opulent palaces, the king was troubled. He knew all too well that the self-dealing ways and gold-plated lifestyle of the House of Saud<\/a> \u2014 whose princes and princelings numbered in the thousands \u2014 had spiraled out of control. Things had to change.<\/p>\n That was a decade ago.<\/p>\n Leaked American diplomatic cables from the time described the attempts of then-King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz<\/a> to rein in the money-skimming excesses of his fabulously wealthy fellow royals. The Saudi Arabian monarch, already an octogenarian, reportedly told his brothers that he didn\u2019t want to face Judgment Day<\/a> with \u201cthe burden of corruption\u201d on his shoulders, the diplomatic memos said. He died in 2015.<\/p>\n Now the kingdom\u2019s brash young crown prince, 32-year-old Mohammed bin Salman, has proclaimed a new war on corruption. Acting at his behest, Saudi authorities have accused hundreds of people, including a dizzying roll call of prominent princes, of crimes that include graft, bribery and money laundering.<\/p>\n The arid peninsula\u2019s business lore brims with tales of ambitious infrastructure projects that shimmered like mirages, their cost vastly inflated by blatant bribery demands from royal and VIP patrons, their completion delayed or doomed altogether by brazen high-level malfeasance.<\/p>\n A gleaming subway in the capital, Riyadh, a promised-but-unbuilt sewer system in the port city of Jidda<\/a>, even the Grand Mosque complex in the holy city of Mecca \u2014 all have come under scrutiny over kickbacks and misappropriated funds. In past years, other Saudi deals such as lucrative arms contracts have ensnared foreign partners.<\/p>\n The Jidda case had particularly tragic consequences. A powerful Saudi businessman had accepted a multimillion-dollar payment to build a new sewage and drainage system, but merely pretended to have completed it \u2014 a ruse that was widely known among commoners as well as the ruling elite. Later, in 2009, flooding sent torrents of water coursing through the city, killing more than 100 people. The lack of a viable drainage system was a key underlying cause.<\/p>\n To the point of cliche, trappings of the luxe life have become the Saudi royal family\u2019s calling cards the world over: yachts and private planes, an endless array of designer goods, venerable enterprises purchased like baubles, sumptuous apartments in London and Paris, the commandeering of entire wings of the planet\u2019s most exclusive hotels.<\/p>\n \u201cClearly, they understand they\u2019ve had a corruption problem for decades, and know they have to do something,\u201d said Robert Jordan<\/a>, a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, citing the \u201cshakedown culture\u201d that surrounded the royal family and other elites.<\/p>\n Many veteran Saudi watchers, and more than a few wary investors, are questioning whether the prince\u2019s ostensible cleanup drive is primarily a bid to consolidate power and sideline potential rivals \u2014 following a template used by authoritarian leaders such as Chinese President Xi Jinping<\/a> or Russian President Vladimir Putin, both of whom have jailed potential adversaries on corruption charges.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are some concerns that what this is really going to do is centralize oversight of public spending, and the same practices will continue, but among a smaller group of people,\u201d said Allison Wood<\/a>, an analyst for Control Risks<\/a>, a London-based global risk and strategic consulting firm.<\/p>\n The \u201creal test\u201d of a serious anti-corruption drive, she said, would be \u201cnot just to pursue these people for corruption, but to maintain and set a new standard for transparency.\u201d<\/p>\n Even some of the prince\u2019s many critics, though, acknowledge that he is correctly reading the zeitgeist in the kingdom\u2019s less exalted quarters, especially among less privileged Saudi youth. Popular resentment over royal money grabs poses a potent threat as a new generation of leaders struggles to envision life beyond the petrodollars that fueled Saudi Arabia\u2019s extraordinary transformation from barren desert to a realm of gilded shopping malls and superhighways.<\/p>\n The problem, detractors say, is that the crown prince and his particular branch of the family tree are part of the kingdom\u2019s patronage system, which makes his startling move against his royal brethren even more of a high-wire act.<\/p>\n Critics call it a campaign of selective prosecution waged by an indulged young royal \u2014 widely known by his initials, MBS \u2014 who reportedly made an on-the-spot purchase of a $500-million yacht while vacationing on the Riviera<\/a> in 2015, and is tied to business entities that stand to benefit immensely from the removal of some of those arrested.<\/p>\n Prominent whistle-blower Ali Adubisi<\/a>, a Saudi in self-exile who heads the Berlin-based European-Saudi Organization for Human Rights<\/a>, called the crown prince\u2019s campaign a \u201cblack comedy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis move is more a matter of organizing corruption,\u201d he said, \u201cso that it is in the hands of MBS and his coterie.\u201d<\/p>\n As Saudi investments tighten the once-insular kingdom\u2019s ties to the outside world, head-spinning sums of money are in play. And those are likely to increase exponentially with next year\u2019s expected public offering of shares in Saudi Aramco, the oil behemoth, and moves to privatize other state assets under an economic blueprint known as Vision 2030.<\/p>\n President Trump<\/a>\u00a0has openly wooed the Saudis, tweeting just before the wave of weekend arrests that he hoped the Aramco offering would be made on the New York Stock Exchange<\/a>. And just as openly, the president has taken sides in the crown prince\u2019s crackdown, declaring on Twitter that some of those targeted had been \u201c\u2018milking\u2019 their country for years.\u201d<\/p>\n The State Department has been more circumspect, with spokeswoman Heather Nauert<\/a> expressing support for the anti-corruption effort but calling on Saudi officials to carry it out in a \u201cfair and transparent manner.\u201d<\/p>\n True reform would have to go much further than these arrests, many analysts say. With few Western-style regulatory mechanisms in place, very little is made public about the scale and nature of holdings of the royal family and the myriad ways in which the royals\u2019 wealth overlaps with the state budget.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not even clear precisely how many royals there are. Joseph A. Kechichian<\/a>, a scholar at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies<\/a>, estimates the descendants of founding monarch King Abdulaziz al Saud<\/a> at about 20,000 men and women, with an influential core of about 200 members.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one knows what the collective wealth is,\u201d Kechichian, who has authored a book about the clan, wrote in an email from Riyadh, \u201cbut probably in the hundreds of billions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Also known for its opacity is the state-run Public Investment Fund<\/a>, whose holdings are thought to total about $200 billion and could balloon with the Aramco offering and other measures envisaged by the crown prince. In the last two years, the fund\u2019s oversight was transferred from the Saudi finance committee to a council under Crown Prince Mohammed\u2019s control.<\/p>\n In occasional bursts of candor over the years, some prominent Saudis have acknowledged the staggering scale of the royal family\u2019s financial entanglements, but described them as underpinning the country\u2019s emergence as not only a regional power, but also a player on the world stage.<\/p>\n In a memorable 2001 interview with PBS\u2019 \u201cFrontline,\u201d<\/a> Prince Bandar bin Sultan<\/a>, who served for years as the Saudi envoy to Washington, said three decades of development had involved an expenditure of about $400 billion, perhaps an eighth of which had found its way into illicit channels.<\/p>\nIn gilded Saudi royal circles, corruption has long been a way of life<\/h3>\n
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