According to state media, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has fired two royals over allegations of corruption and sent them an anti-graft watchdog to investigate.
In one Royal decree Released early Tuesday, King Salman removed Prince Fahd bin Turki bin Abdulaziz al-Saud as commander of the joint forces in the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen and appointed his son Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd as deputy to the Al-Juf region. Fired from the post of Governor. .
The decision was based on a memorandum sent to Najaha by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (MBS) anti-corruption committee, which investigated “suspicious financial transactions at the Ministry of Defense”.
Four other army officers were also placed under investigation.
In the announcement, officials said the state has the highest level of corruption.
MBS, after inheriting the throne in a palace coup in 2017, launched an anti-corruption campaign in which several rials, ministers and businessmen were detained at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh.
Most were released after arriving in settlements unfamiliar with the state.
While the Crown Prince has made the fight against corruption a pillar of his reforms, critics say he must step down to his last throne, the capital, seize the country’s security cordon and move forward to stem dissent. Has been.
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Officials injured the Ritz campaign after 15 months but said the government would continue after corruption by state employees.
In March, authorities arrested about 300 government officials, including military and security officials, on charges of bribery and exploitation of public office. Human Rights Watch has sounded the alarm over the arrests, warning of “inappropriate legal action” in an obscure justice system.
Shikanja Kaleja was arrested with the arrest of Shah Salman’s brother Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Saad and the king’s nephew Prince Mohammed bin Naif, a former Crown Prince.
Family members of Saad al-Jabri, a former top intelligence agent and ally of Bin Naif, have also joined the operation. Al-Jabri, who lives in exile in Canada, recently filed a lawsuit in the United States accusing MBS of sending a hit squad to assassinate him in 2018.
Prince Fahd, who was fired on Tuesday, was the commander of the Royal Saudi forces’ ground forces, paratroopers and special forces, according to the Saudi daily Arab News.
His father was a former deputy defense minister.
The king’s decree states that the Crown Prince had appointed Lieutenant General Mutlaq bin Saleem bin Mutlaq al-Azima to replace Prince Fahad.
The coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 against the Houthi movement linked to Iran, which ousted a Sanaa-backed government backed by Sanaa. The conflict, seen as a proxy war between the Arabs and Iran, has been a military stalemate for years.
Source:
Al Jazeera and News Agency
