Two Saudi Arabian princes are acquitted of corruption charges

Prince Meshaal bin Abdullah and Prince Faisal bin Abdullah are among the other 200 members of the royal family, government ministers and businessmen who have been arrested since the government began a “anti-corruption cleansing”, led by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in November.

The couple were released from the Ritz-Carlton Hotel of Riyadh after agreeing with the government, a Saudi senior official told “Reuters”.

A decision on whether a third brother should be released, Prince Turki bin Abdullah, has not yet been reached, the source said.

A significant number of other people were released earlier this week, as reported by the Saudi Okaz newspaper on December 26th, reports “Al Jazeera”, the Periscope broadcast.

Those arrested who have failed to reach agreement with the government will face trial, the report said. The Kingdom is preparing to channel billions of dollars of funds confiscated from the anti-corruption campaign on economic development projects, a Saudi minister said on December 4th.

A separate account of the Ministry of Finance has been opened to receive such funds, which the Public Prosecutor's Office has estimated should eventually reach between $50 billion and $100 billion, said Minister of Trade and Investments Majid bin Abdullah al-Qasabi.

Last month, Saudi prince and former head of the National Guard, Mitteb bin Abdullah, was acquitted after announcing that he had agreed to an agreement with the $1 billion government. The dramatic “anti-corruption” is the last in a series of measures by the crown prince as a move to remove previous leaders. /Periscopi/