Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Photo by Balkis Press/ABACAPRESS.COM. All rights reserved. Mohammed Ben Salman (MBS), with the acquiescence of Salman, is now in control of the kingdom’s three centres of military power, its media narrative and much of the funds of the country’s business elite, and is thus able to wield immense influence.
The simultaneous, but not coincidental, forced resignation of Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, formed part of this, and together with the purge, threatens to cause regional ructions. Already we have observed an escalation of Saudi rhetoric towards Iran, and the blocking of Yemen’s ports. This is especially the case in Lebanon, where this is likely to lead to the collapse of the current government, which took more than two years to form.
Implemented under the auspices of the newly formed anti-corruption committee, headed by MBS, the purge saw eleven princes initially detained (including Abdullah’s two sons Mut’ib and Turki) together with dozens of businessmen including the influential prince and media mogul Walid bin Talal as well as Walid Al-Ibrahim. King Fahd’s son Abdulaziz, was also reportedly killed trying to evade arrest although it is more likely that he has been banished from the country. Mansour, the son of former Crown Prince Muqrin perished in a helicopter crash close to the Yemeni boarder, reportedly on route to visit local projects in Acir, but whose death is attributed to his attempts to escape capture. In addition, Mohammed bin Nayef, who had previously been placed under house arrest, saw his assets frozen, as well as the assets of thousands of other citizens.
