Saudi Arabia said to freeze accounts of officials arrested in corruption purge

The Saudi Authorities will freeze the bank accounts of the princes, ministers and officials who were detained in a sweeping crackdown against corruption, Asharq Al Awsat has reported.

The amounts related to cases of corruption will be seized and deposited into the state treasury, the culture and information ministry’s Center for International Communication (CIC) said.

Saudi authorities on Saturday arrested 11 princes including billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, as well as 38 former and current ministers.

Shortly after, King Salman ordered the formation of a new anti-corruption committee, to be headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with the membership of the Heads and Chiefs of the Control and Investigation Board, the National Anti-corruption Commission, the State Security Agency for public corruption, and the General Auditing Bureau, in addition to the public prosecutor.

“The committee has initiated a number of investigations as part of the state’s judicial duty to combat corruption,” said Sheikh Saud Al Mojeb, Attorney General of Saudi Arabia and member of the supreme anti-corruption committee.

Commenting on the arrests, he pointed out that everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

“The suspects are being granted the same rights and treatment as any other Saudi citizen,” said Mojeb, according to the Saudi Center for International Communication. “A suspect’s position or status does not influence the firm and fair application of justice. During the investigation, all parties retain full legal privileges relating to their personal and private property, including funds.”