AMN
Saudi Arabia says 201 people are being held so far for questioning over an estimated 100 billion US dollars in embezzlement and corruption, after the biggest purge of the kingdom’s elite in its modern history.
Quoting attorney general Sheikh Saud al-Mojebthe, Saudi information ministry said in a statement in Riyadh that total of 208 individuals were called in for questioning of which seven have been released without charge.
Princes, ministers and a billionaire business tycoon were among dozens of high-profile figures arrested or sacked at the weekend, as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman consolidated power.
The purge comes amid heightened regional tensions, with Saudi Arabia and Iran facing off over a missile attack from Yemen and a political crisis in Lebanon after prime minister Saad Hariri’s shock resignation announced from Riyadh.