FINANCIAL RESTRICTIONS BRING SAUDI PRINCES TO POVERTY

The royal family in Saudi Arabia has come under economic pressure from the state.  The country's authorities continue to introduce more and more restrictions for non-working princes, who got used to living large.  They have to sell yachts and real estate to cover their maintenance costs and not attract increased attention from the crown prince.

According to the foreign media, the crown prince cut off many ways to enrich his family members in the course of political struggle. However, it has not yet become possible to defeat corruption in the country. Many princes continue to illegally enrich themselves on bank loans, embezzlement of land, real estate and receive multibillion-dollar salaries from the state.

The authorities stopped paying utility bills for non-working princes and vacations outside the country.

Water and electricity bills will now have to be paid by themselves. Sources suggest that the Saudi government will impose a special tax on them in order to limit the number of domestic workers to four. For a larger number of employees, you will have to pay at the rate of $ 2,500 for each.

The country remembers the story of 2017, when almost 200 people, including Saudi princes, businessmen and senior officials were detained in a five-star hotel. Then the persons accused of corruption agreed to pay off. As a result, in January 2018, they all were released, including the billionaire Al-Walid ibn Talal, and the treasury received about $100 billion. About 1.4 thousand bank accounts were frozen by the Central Bank of the country.

The crown prince is trying to consolidate power in his hands by means of such measures, the sources say. This forces many to covertly sell foreign assets in an attempt to hide the deals from heightened scrutiny. For example, Prince Turki bin Nasser Al Saud was left without his luxury yacht in 2020, and in 2021 he sold a mansion in the United States for $28.5 million,but died before the transaction was completed.

Another royal, Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, was also forced to dispose of his UK property worth $155 last year million.

A similar fate befell the London castle, which was sold by his relatives for $290 million. His son had to sell his Parisian house for $87 million. As a result, the total proceeds from the transactions exceeded $ 600 million. The princes are forced to pledge part of the assets in order to receive the funds necessary to maintain their usual lifestyle.