A chill in the kingdom

It is the picture of some of the richest and most powerful men in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) lying on mattresses on the floor of a function room at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh that tells the story of what amounts to a revolution in the Kingdom. The men had been detained on Sunday 5^th November and were joined by another tranche on the 6^th as the largest anti-corruption purge in the history of KSA continued. Members of the royal family, entrepreneurs, businessmen, bureaucrats and some mighty movers and shakers on the global financial stages are now in custody. The investigations that led to their detention have reportedly been in process for a year. At least one of those to be detained allegedly died in a gunfight resisting arrest. As yet there are no reports of any formal charges being made or any court appearances. The moves have the support of President Trump who tweeted his approval from Japan. He may or may not have been surprised.

It is no exaggeration to say that this is a watershed moment. All is not well in KSA. The economy is becalmed, the war in Yemen is bogged down and the Iranians are continuing to back the Houthi rebels, the blockade of Qatar has proved to be something of a non-event and the state sees itself as surrounded by countries where Iranian influence is strong or dominant — Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.

That there is a culture of corruption is undeniable. It was the way business was done in KSA. Kickbacks were the norm. It is also true that billions of dollars will have been lost to the state coffers. It is equally true that there has been no negative reaction to the detentions by the wider populace, either on the streets or the social media. All that said it is difficult to avoid the perception that this is a ruthless aggregation of power by the crown prince who is the most likely successor to the aging King Salman. There is a chill in the desert that has nothing to do with the turn of the seasons.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 8^th, 2017.

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