Saudi Arabia releases MBC’s owner held on corruption charges

CAIRO – 27 January 2018: Saudi Arabia released Waleed al-Ibrahim, the founder of Middle East Broadcasting Centre (MBC), who has been detained for about three months on charges of corruption after he reached a deal with the government.

Saudi authorities released 23 of the 200-or-so princes, ministers, senior military officers and wealthy businessmen who have been held in five-star hotels across the country since November on corruption charges, according to media reports.

Ibrahim, the brother of the late King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz’s wife, was released from the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh and then went to his home where he met with his family.

The arrests were ordered by King Salman via his son and heir, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Their crackdown appears to be popular with Saudis who believe their country is plagued by corruption among members of the royal family and well-connected businessmen.

The attorney general has said he is investigating allegations involving sums of at least $100bn. An estimated 1,700 bank accounts have been frozen.

Those detained include Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, a billionaire who owns stakes in Citigroup and Twitter, and Bakr bin Laden, chairman of the Saudi Binladin construction group.