17 Saudi Princes, Top Officials Arrested in Corruption Sweep

By Andrew Magnotta

November 5, 2017

Saudi Arabia's new anti-corruption committee has arrested at least 17 princes and top government officials, CNN reports.

The anti-corruption initiative is part of Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman's attempts to revamp Saudi Arabia, modernize the country's economy and return the Middle Eastern nation to one of "moderate" Islam.

Included on the list is Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a billionaire businessman who owns 95 percent of a holding company with stakes in Citigroup, Twitter, Apple and News Corp.

Reports of his arrest scraped as much as $750 million from Prince Alwaleed's fortune Sunday.