Saudi princes sell $600 million property due to financial problems

According to the WSJ, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia has restricted the access of his potential rivals in the struggle for the throne to sources of enrichment.After that, some members of the royal family sold their assets abroad Mohammed bin Salman

Saudi Arabian princes are selling property and yachts abroad due to financial difficulties they faced after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Abdulaziz Al Saud restricted their use of part of their income sources, writes The Wall Street Journal. According to the interlocutors of the newspaper, after the tightening of restrictions, the princes do not have enough money to maintain their houses, pay taxes, pay salaries to subordinates, and pay bills for parking aircraft and ships. In addition, members of the royal family are trying to get rid of the most expensive assets so as not to attract the attention of the crown prince.

Prince Turki bin Nasser Al Saud, one of those detained at the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton hotel in 2017 during an anti-corruption investigation, sold his 60-meter yacht in 2020, and in 2021 - a house in Los Angeles worth $ 28.5 million (by the time the transaction was completed, the prince died).

Prince Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud sold $155 million worth of UK property in 2021, sources told the WSJ. Other heirs of the late Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud sold a castle in London worth $290 million after pressure from the crown prince began in 2020. One of his sons, Khaled bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, sold a house in Paris for $87 million near the Eiffel Tower.

The total amount of assets sold exceeded $600 million. Some princes are also forced to mortgage their property to make up for the lack of funds.

The Saudi government is aware of these deals, writes WSJ.

According to one of the interlocutors of the newspaper, the princes "do not work, they have many subordinates, and they are afraid" of the heir to the throne, Mohammed bin Salman. They want to have funds that would not be conspicuous, the source added. Another person familiar with ongoing transactions noted that the princes are accustomed to a very high standard of living and they need time to learn how to live in the new conditions.

Detained Saudi princes returned to the treasury "over $ 100 billion" Politics

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In 2018, the Saudi princes detained at the Ritz Carlton returned more than $100 billion to the state treasury.

As the newspaper notes, the country's authorities have recently introduced a number of new restrictions on members of the royal family. For example, they were deprived of paid vacations abroad and payment of water and electricity bills from the treasury. This year, the government plans to introduce a tax on domestic workers: without paying a tax, only four will be allowed, and for each subsequent princes will have to pay $ 2,500.

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According to the sources of The Wall Street Journal, the princes continue to earn illegal ways: by appropriating the land property of the population, applying for loans in banks and not returning them. One of the newspaper's interlocutors said that the authorities continue to spend billions of dollars annually on their salaries.