Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman must be worried that some of the royals rounded up during his “corruption crackdown” cash grab are holding out on him. Because the Saudi prince has reportedly hired a crew of American mercenaries who haven’t hesitated to employ an array of “enhanced interrogation” techniques.
As the Daily Mail reports, mercenaries purportedly employed by Academi, a successor to infamous US security contractor Blackwater, have been stringing up some of MBS’s “guests” at the Riyadh Ritz Carlton by their feet and savagely beating them during interrogations. The claims have spread rapidly on Arabic-language social media, and even Lebanon’s president Michel Aoun has accused MBS of using mercenaries, ZeroHedge reported.
'They are beating them, torturing them, slapping them, and insulting them. They want to break them down,' the source told Daily Mail.
'Blackwater' has been named by the source as the firm involved, and the claim of its presence in Saudi Arabia has also been made on Arabic social media, and by Lebanon's president.
The firm's successor, Academi, denies the claims.
The Saudi crown prince has also confiscated more than $194 billion from the bank accounts and seized assets of those arrested, and could eventually end up with $800 billion in cash and assets to replenish the regime’s rapidly diminishing reserves.
Given the febrile atmosphere in the kingdom, and the tacit support for the crackdown among Saudi citizens, who have seen their jobs and generous government subsidies cut, MBS has been able to circumvent the country’s legal system.
He’s using mercenaries because Saudi soldiers might balk at torturing powerful men like Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, whom they’ve been saluting their entire lives.
Talal, who is (or was until recently) one of the richest men in the world, has also been hung upside down and beaten.
Daily Mail source says 'They hung them upside down, just to send a message.'
They told them that "we've made your charges public, the world knows that you've been arrested on these charges."
All the guards in charge are private security because MBS (Mohammed Bin Salman) doesn't want Saudi officers there who have been saluting those detainees all their lives, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous.
Outside the hotels where they are being detained you see the armored vehicles of the Saudi special forces. But inside, it's a private security company.
“They've transferred all the guys from Abu Dhabi. Now they are in charge of everything,” said the source.
The source said that Salman, often referred to by his initials MBS, is conducting some of the interrogations himself.
“When it's something big he asks them questions. He speaks to them very nicely in the interrogation, and then he leaves the room, and the mercenaries go in. The prisoners are slapped, insulted, hung up, tortured.”
The source says the crown prince is desperate to assert his authority through fear and wants to uncover an alleged network of foreign officials who have taken bribes from Saudi princes.
Facing Prison
Meanwhile, According to Middle East Monitor, Saudi princes and officials who were arrested in the kingdom’s mass purge could face trial and jail terms at the maximum security prison, Al-Hair, if they do not give up their financial assets, the Wall Street Journal quoted a Saudi source as saying.
“Some detainees have succumbed to pressure and could be released on probation and imposed house arrest until funds are transferred from their accounts,” the paper said.
According to the newspaper, MBS who leads the so-called anti-corruption campaign is personally supervising the negotiations with the detainees and has become a regular visitor to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh where they are being held.
“Bin Salman travels with a few trusted advisers and spends several hours in each visit, according to a Saudi official,” the paper said.
MBS has been negotiating with the detainees at the Ritz-Carlton for two weeks to give up most of their wealth in exchange for their freedom.
WSJ noted that the commission of inquiry wants about 70% of the detainees’ wealth noting that more than 2,000 accounts have been frozen so far.
Earlier, the British Financial Times reported that the deals with the princes were likely to include pledges of allegiance to bin Salman.
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