
Billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Arrested in Corruption Crackdown - adventured
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/04/billionaire-saudi-prince-alwaleed-bin-talal-arrested-in-corruption-crackdown-local-reports.html
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indescions_2017
Hashtag #الملك_يحارب_الفساد trending on $TWTR right now. Which apparently
translates as #King_Fights_Corruption.

Other Middle East events of note today. Lebanese PM Hariri resigns over
Hezbollah security situation. Trump urges Saudi Aramco IPO on NYSE. ASEAN
conference may include talks of a Qatari oil blockade. Yemen's Houthi-
controlled air ministry fires a missile at the Riyadh airport, that was
intercepted by the Saudis.

And now what appears to be a coup with a dozen members of the royal family
charged with "corruption". Besides a consolidation of power, asset forfeiture,
or other conspiracy theories. Wondering if any Arabic speakers may have a
deeper insight as to timing of these remarkable event ;)

~~~
rz2k
I don’t live in the Middle East and do not speak Arabic, but arguably the coup
occurred in June.[1]

Saudi Arabia faces an unfavorable trend where less of world GDP will be
allocated to purchase oil, and a growing royal family that expects a continued
high quality of life and massive amounts of imported labor. It is also
jockeying with Iran to be the most influential power in the region.

It is difficult to think of what the best solution is for such a difficult
problem. Shifting away from an economy based on extracting rents to one with
more enterprise, such as engaging with the sorts of businesses Prince Alwaleed
invested in seems like a wise decision. The new heir seems to favor boldness,
such as pursuing whatever Saudi Arabia’s goals are in Yemen right now.

Based on the context of what the leadership is going through right now, actual
corruption seems unlikely to have anything to do with this charge.

[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-palace-
coup/addicti...](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-palace-
coup/addiction-and-intrigue-inside-the-saudi-palace-coup-idUSKBN1A41IS)

------
PeachPlum
March 14, 2017

Saudi deputy crown prince, Trump meeting a 'turning point': Saudi adviser

[https://archive.is/nAC1H](https://archive.is/nAC1H)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia hailed a “historical turning point” in
U.S.-Saudi relations after a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and
Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman highlighted the two leaders’ shared
view that Iran posed a regional security threat.

The meeting on Tuesday appeared to signal a meeting of the minds on many
issues between Trump and Prince Mohammed, in a marked difference from Riyadh’s
often fraught relationship with the Obama administration, especially in the
wake of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

“This meeting is considered a historical turning point in relations between
both countries and which had passed through a period of divergence of views on
many issues,” a senior adviser to Prince Mohammed said in a statement.

“But the meeting today restored issues to their right path and form a big
change in relations between both countries in political, military, security
and economic issues,” the adviser said.

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vfulco
Live by the sword, die by the sword (literally)

~~~
aaron695
Saudi does not have capital punishment for corruption either on the books or
in practice unless you can link it?

China does however seem to have it on the books and practices it.

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nnfy
Apparently this is the so called progrwssive prince behind the crackdown, the
one who among other things allowed women to drive.

I wonder what this could mean for the middle east and the Saudi export of
Wahhabism...

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Ice_cream_suit
He is a big Apple shareholder.

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0xbear
Trump was right again it seems:
[https://mobile.twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/6755237280...](https://mobile.twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/675523728055410689?lang=en)

~~~
smhost
Wait, I'm confused. Right about what? Trump was saying that Talal was trying
to buy American politicians. Talal wasn't arrested for that. Or are you saying
that Trump is somehow responsible for the king's actions, because that seems
like a ridiculous conspiracy to me. Please connect the dots for me.

~~~
0xbear
Think broader: he called the prince a corrupt, holier than thou douche. It
seems he was right.

~~~
smhost
He was arrested on the orders of someone who has a lot to gain politically,
and in a country that regularly arrests people for what we consider to be
basic human rights, so this doesn't convince me of anything about his
character.

~~~
0xbear
Regardless, he was trying to buy influence here in the US, and his candidate
didn’t win. And he managed to piss off the guy who did win. Too bad.

[http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2015/12/figures-saudi-
prince...](http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2015/12/figures-saudi-prince-who-
bashed-donald-trump-is-big-clinton-foundation-donor-enjoys-dwarf-tossing/)

