Prince Fahd bin Turki was relieved from his position upon a royal decree issued on 31 August 2020 [photo credit: SPA]
Among the many prominent figures swept up in MbS’s anti-corruption
campaign in recent months is Prince Fahd bin Turki, who was the
commander of the Saudi-led coalition joint forces operating in Yemen
until his abrupt dismissal last year. The reason for his detention remains unclear. Some say he was plotting a coup while others say it was because of his growing influence
over the Saudi armed forces and among Yemeni tribes; yet others say he
was arrested because his son used his influence as deputy governor to
allow one of King Abdullah’s daughters to be smuggled out of the
country.
What is clear since the crackdown on the royal family began in 2017
with the Ritz-Carlton round-up is that imprisoning many of the country’s
richest and most powerful men not only had a deeply chilling effect on
the Saudi economy at the time, but its impact has continued to trickle
slowly down through Saudi business circles since then, as more and more
businessmen have found that because their prince is in prison they are
not going to get paid.
We reported in a previous newsletter
how Saudi businessman Nader bin Turki launched a US court case against
MbS, as well as other Saudi entities, alleging that by freezing and
seizing Prince Mohammed bin Nayef’s assets MbS had obstructed his
payment. Now another businessman has come forward claiming
much the same thing. Jordanian businessman Zayed Ibrahim Khalaf
al-Drabkih accuses Saudi Princess al-Bandary bint Sultan Al-Saud of
owing him US$6.584 million in regards a loan he says he made to her back
in 2010. Princess al-Bandary herself is in Saudi Arabia and has not
publicly commented on the allegation. Arab Digest has been unable to
reach her for comment.
Princess al-Bandary is the daughter of Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz
al-Saud who before his death in 2011 served for half a century as
Minister of Defence and Aviation. By the time he died Prince Sultan had
become one of the wealthiest Saudi princes and he left behind a vast inheritance
reported to be worth SAR 490 billion [£98.91 bn] riyals and this was
just the amount which was known and reported - even more was thought to
have been concealed. Other royal family members have told Arab Digest
the true value of Prince Sultan’s estate was in fact around SAR 830
billion [£167.45 bn].
Princess al-Bandary should therefore have inherited a fortune. The anonymous Saudi opposition blogger Mujtahidd
reported that each of Sultan’s wives and 30-odd sons were to receive
SAR 10 billion [£2.02 bn] apiece and each of his daughters SAR 5 billion
[£1.01 bn]. However, as so often seems to be the case in the royal
family when it comes to dividing a vast fortune between dozens of wives
and children from different mothers, that rather than proceed
customarily and split it according to Islamic law, as Sultan lay on his
deathbed his eldest son Prince Khaled, the former deputy Minister of
Defence, and the head of his private office, Abdullah bin Mushabab
al-Shehri, hatched a plan to embezzle the majority of his estate for
themselves. In Sultan’s final days SAR 160 billion [£32.28 bn] of his
assets are said to have been registered in Khaled’s name and another SAR
85 billion [£17.15 bn] in the name of Khaled’s late mother, in accounts
he controlled, including palaces in Riyadh, the Eastern Province and
Paris.
But the snake pit of Saudi politics being as it is, the two did not
get to enjoy their ill-gotten gains for long. Two years after they stole
Princess al- Bandary’s inheritance, along with that belonging to the
rest of Prince Sultan’s inheritors, they themselves were shaken down by
MbS.
When in November 2017 he ordered the arrest
and detention of hundreds of prominent Saudi businessmen in the
Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh, under the pretext of “fighting corruption” the
sons of Prince Sultan were among those who were particularly targeted,
along with the sons of King Fahd bin Abdulaziz, King Abdullah and Prince
Nayef because these are the main rival family branches to King
Salman’s. As Arab Digest reported
at the time, the detainees were tortured and forced to hand over all
their assets and at least one person died, Maj. Gen. Ali al-Qahtani, a
top aide to Prince Turki bin Abdullah.
By Mr al-Drabkih’s account, Khaled bin Sultan was among those
detained in the Ritz-Carlton and forced to sign a settlement with MbS’s
two right hand men who coordinated the purge, Saud Al Qahtani and Turki
Al Sheikh, stripping him of all his wealth. Mr al-Drabkih’s spokesman
and former business partner Rafi Abu Fada told Arab Digest all of
Sultan’s branch of the family are now subject to strict controls by MbS,
they are closely monitored by a special department at the Royal Court
and unable to withdraw more than SAR 20,000 [c. £4,034] from their
accounts each day, making it impossible for Princess al-Bandary to pay
him back.
Among all the children of Prince Sultan only one reached a settlement
with MbS which allowed him to go free and keep his money - the former
Saudi ambassador to Washington Prince Bandar bin Sultan. The condition
was that he would use his connections and influence to support MbS’s bid
for the throne, which he duly did and two of his children are currently the Saudi ambassadors to the UK and US.
Abdullah bin Mushabab al-Shehri, the head of Prince Sultan’s office who helped Prince Khaled embezzle Prince Sultan’s estate, was also detained in the Ritz where he was forced to hand over SAR 7 billion [£1.41 bn] to MbS. The experience reportedly drove him insane and he is now a permanent in-patient in Shahar Hospital for Mental Health in Taif.
There are many similarities between Zayed al-Drabkih’s case and that
of Nader bin Turki’s and both cast light on what it is like doing
business in the top echelons of the Saudi royal family. Both businessmen
claim they are not being paid because their patrons have been targeted
by MbS’s anti-corruption campaign. Both tried in vain for years to seek
restitution the traditional Saudi way, behind closed doors using the
influence of other royal family members and lawyers,
before they finally gave up and decided to go public. The key
difference is that while Nader bin Turki filed suit in Pennsylvania
where he can expect justice, Zayed’s situation took place entirely in
the UAE and Saudi Arabia where there is no recourse legal or otherwise
against any member of the Saudi royal family - unless you are MbS.