Reuters sources have reported that Saudi Arabia’s billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who is detained for over two months in an anticorruption crackdown, is negotiating a possible settlement with authorities but so far has not agreed on terms, a senior Saudi official said, according to Lenta.ru, a Moscow-based online newspaper.
Bin Talal, who has Armenian roots, “offered a certain figure” to Saudi officials so that no charges will be brought against him. But the authorities, especially the attorney general, did not agree with that amount.
Since early November 2017, Prince Alwaleed has been held, with dozens of other members of Saudi Arabia’s political and business elite, detained in the crackdown, as authorities seek to reach settlements with the detainees.
Prince Alwaleed is one of the richest people in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi officials say they aim to claw back some $100 billion of funds from the country’s officials and royal family members that are suspected of corruption.
A total of 60 princes and officials have been detained along the lines of this crackdown.
Bloomberg had written that, in late November, Saudi Prince Miteb bin Abdullah was freed after reaching a settlement with authorities that involved paying more than $1 billion.