Behind Saudi's night of the long knives
Even by the standards of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose meteoric ascent has put him on the cusp of the Saudi throne at the age of 32, the Saturday night crackdown was stunning.
In just a few hours, security forces arrested princes, billionaires, ministers and former top officials as soon as King Salman announced a sweeping anti-corruption drive. Those detained included billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.
The king also relieved Prince Miteb bin Abdullah from his post as head of the powerful National Guard, taking out one of the last senior royals to have survived a series of cabinet reshuffles that promoted allies of his son. Prince Mohammed became heir to the throne in June when his cousin was removed in a palace shake-up.
The scale of the campaign fits into the style of the royal with a knack for shock and awe. Since 2015, the prince has embarked on an unprecedented shake-up to prepare the economy for the post-oil era, plunged the kingdom into war in Yemen and severed diplomatic and transport links with neighbouring Qatar. In the meantime, he has taken control of every lever of power from defence to oil policies.
Sidelining powerful opponents has long been part of the plan to pave Prince Mohammed's rise to the throne, and "he is only a few steps away from that now", said Ayham Kamel, head of the Middle East and North Africa department at Eurasia Group. The purge also aims to deliver a wider message: "Mohammed bin Salman will require loyalty," he said.
"Anti-corruption is definitely a new campaign in Saudi Arabia and it's an effort by Mohammed bin Salman to present himself as a reformist, as a popular figure who cares about the people, but there is certainly a political dimension to this," Kamel said.
The round-up risks overwhelming local and foreign investors struggling to get their heads around the rapid changes shaking the kingdom.
The arrest of Prince Alwaleed, a major shareholder of companies including Citigroup and Twitter, "could well dampen international interest in investing in the crown prince's much-heralded Vision 2030 to make the non-oil private sector the new motor of the economy," said David Ottaway, Middle East fellow at the Wilson Centre.
The prince's move appeared designed to tap into a popular vein among young Saudis who are bearing the brunt of low oil prices and complaining that the kingdom's elite are above the rule of law.
"The attack on major figures in the Saudi economy is really puzzling," said Gregory Gause, a professor of international affairs at Texas A&M University and a Saudi specialist. "It's a time when the kingdom is encouraging investment both from the local private sector and foreigners."
- Bloomberg