Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal released, say family sources

He expects to keep full control of his global investment firm Kingdom Holding Co. without being required to give up assets to the government.

January 27, 2018 04:58 pm | Updated November 28, 2021 08:09 am IST - DUBAI

 Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal sits for an interview with Reuters in the office of the suite where he has been detained at the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on January 27, 2018.

Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal sits for an interview with Reuters in the office of the suite where he has been detained at the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on January 27, 2018.

Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has been released from detention, family sources said on January 27, more than two months after he was taken into custody in the kingdom’s sweeping crackdown on corruption.

The billionaire's release came hours after he told Reuters in an exclusive interview at the opulent Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh that he expected to be cleared of any wrongdoing and be released from custody within days.

A family source told Reuters, “He has arrived home.”

Saudi officials could not immediately be reached for comment and the terms of his release were not immediately clear.

Prince Alwaleed was confined at the hotel since early November 2017, along with dozens of others, part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to consolidate control and reform oil the country.

Also read: Night of the long knives in Riyadh

In his first interview since he was taken into custody, Prince Alwaleed told Reuters he was continuing to maintain his innocence of any corruption in talks with the authorities.

He said he expected to keep full control of his global investment firm Kingdom Holding Co. without being required to give up assets to the government.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.