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By Dan De Luce, Ken Dilanian and Robert Windrem
WASHINGTON – The Ritz-Carlton, in the Saudi capital, presents itself as an "elegant oasis" that "completely envelops its enlightened customers in a majestic setting".
But a year ago on Sunday, November 4, 2017, the ultra-luxurious Riyadh hotel – with its marble floors and expansive indoor pool – became a gilded prison, when hundreds of Saudi royals, billionaires and senior government officials were detained extraordinary power play of the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Involuntary guests were informed that they had to give up important assets in order to be released. The detention involved both psychological violence and – in some cases – torture, according to current and former US officials.
This initiative, described by the Saudi authorities as a repression of widespread corruption, allowed the crown prince to tighten his grip and sent a shockwave among the elites of the kingdom.
"It was a shakedown operation and a power-building operation," said a former senior US official stationed at the time.
The Ritz detentions were designed "to remind people that their wealth and well-being would depend on the Crown Prince and not on anything else, which is why it has been so overwhelming for many the royal family, "said the former manager, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A year later, the event took on even more importance after the death of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, murdered after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. Bin Salman is suspected of ordering Khashoggi's death. strives to defuse the crisis that is jeopardizing the international status of the country.
If bin Salman survives the consequences of Khashoggi's murder, it will be partly because of the raid on the Ritz, where he crushed his rivals and potential rivals. Among those targeted, members of the royal family or officials linked to the late King Abdullah, who died in 2015, mistrust his relatives and relatives because of the circle surrounding King Salman, who now holds the throne.
But the repression generated deep resentment at Saud House and many enemies, experts and former officials, said, and the crown prince could face increased resistance from his internal opponents. Bin Salman, aware that King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was murdered by a disgruntled nephew in 1975, pays special attention to his personal safety, a former US intelligence officer told NBC News.
The details of what exactly happened to the people detained at the Ritz have remained secret, and the fate of those still in detention remains uncertain. A second hotel, the Courtyard by Marriott, located just across the street from the Ritz, also served as an upscale detention center when the Ritz ran out of space. Both hotels were closed to the public during the operation. The Ritz has not responded to a request for comment.
A US intelligence official and two former US government officials told NBC News that the detainees had been forced, abused and tortured. The sources, who requested anonymity, refused to disclose the details contained in the confidential information reports.
The detainees were deprived of sleep, beaten and interrogated with their heads covered. Seventeen were hospitalized, according to the New York Times.
An inmate, a Saudi army officer, Major General Ali al-Qahtani, died in custody. The Saudi authorities have not yet provided an official explanation in this case. He was one of the principal collaborators of Prince Turki bin Abdullah, a son of the late King Abdullah.
Saudi Arabia denied that abuse or torture occurred during the detentions. The Saudi Embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.
At the time, President Donald Trump had approved the crackdown in a tweet: "I have great confidence in King Salman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.They know exactly what." they do. "Some of those they have been treating hard for their country for years!"
Trump's tweet was sent on November 6, two days after the revelation of the crackdown. The next day, the State Department stated that it wanted corruption prosecutions to be "fair and transparent."
Trump's apparent approval of the deal raises the question of whether Washington missed the opportunity to clarify to the Crown Prince last year that he needed to get rid of authoritarian measures or risk an American backlash. said a former senior government official with experience in the sector. Region:
"That should have warned us of what was happening," said the former manager.
Among the nearly 400 detainees was Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a prominent tycoon who was investing in Citigroup and Apple companies valued at more than $ 17 billion.
Alwaleed was summoned to the royal court early on the morning of Nov. 4, not knowing that the Crown Prince had launched a tour of the country's most powerful and wealthy personalities.
Alan Bender, a Canadian businessman with links to the Saudi royal family, told NBC News that he represented a former wife of Alwaleed, who claimed to have been abused by the billionaire . Prior to the November roundup, Bender urged Alwaleed's lawyers to pay a financial settlement to his client. After the detention of Alwaleed, Bender was flown to Riyadh to "testify" against the prince. Bender said he did so by videoconference, reading a text of allegations, while Alwaleed was sitting in a secret location at the other end of the video chat.
Bender said it seemed that Alwaleed was in a room that looked like a prison cell rather than a hotel suite. He also stated that Al-Waleed appeared to be in a rough, tired, unshaven and shaky form.
"It looked like he had not slept," Bender said.
According to Bender, in Riyadh, he learned more about the Ritz operation.
Bender said that one of Crown Prince's key advisers, Saud Al Qahtani, "has boasted of what they had slapped and suspended inmates upside down." This same advisor has since been sacked, along with other senior officials, following the assassination of Saudi dissident Khashoggi.
Alwaleed was finally released after 83 days, with insufficient weight. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Alwaleed claimed that he was not mistreated and that the Saudi government and he had reached a "confidential" agreement. The prince did not respond to NBC News's requests for comment.
Last month, Alwaleed participated in an investment summit in Riyadh, with footage showing him sitting a few squares from the crown prince.
After the end of the crackdown on the Ritz, most of the remaining detainees were transferred to Al Hayer Prison, former US officials said.
Some of the former detainees have been placed under house arrest, are required to wear ankle protection or are prohibited from traveling abroad, former officials said.
The Saudi Attorney General's Office said in a statement released in January that 381 people had been "summoned" in corruption cases and that 56 would remain in detention, because they "refused to settle" or were subject to other pending criminal cases.
The Saudi prince Miteb bin Abdullah, son of the late King Abdullah and leader of the National Guard, a powerful 100,000-strong security force tasked with protecting the royals, was released after three weeks of detention and after he was arrested. agreed to pay more than a billion dollars in a settlement.
His brother, Prince Turki bin Abdullah, a former governor of Riyadh province, is still in detention, former officials said.
The Saudi government has described the crackdown as a whole as a successful effort to eradicate corruption. The Saudi authorities said in January that the government had reached $ 106 billion worth of deals. It is unclear how much is in cash or in real estate or other assets, the transfer of which could take months or even years.
The government reportedly seized the management of some companies, including the Saudi Binladin Group, the giant construction company founded by the father of Osama Bin Laden. The president, Bakr bin Laden, was among those arrested last year. The company did not respond to requests for comment.
Even before the Ritz detentions, the impulsive methods of the Crown Prince had aroused the concern of foreign investors and the country's wealthy elite. Foreign direct investment has fallen in the last two years and the Saudis have transferred cash and assets out of the country at a furious pace.
The detentions of the Ritz have only boosted the concerns of the Saudi market companies.
"If you put yourself on the wrong side of this guy, your investments and your transaction could be at risk – it's a scary message," said Phillip Cornell, Senior Research Fellow at the Atlantic Council Think Tank and former giant Kingdom-owned oil tanker Saudi Aramco.
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