A 5-star prison: Ritz-Carlton is a gilded cage for Saudi royals

From the stately rows of palm trees on its 52-acre grounds to the grand double staircase to the glittering ballroom chandeliers, it is easy to see why the six-year-old Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, has played host to billionaires, heads of state and members of the Saudi royal family.

Which is why it is all the more jarring that former government ministers, prominent businessmen and members of the royal family — the House of Saud — are being held captive in the five-star hotel, which was swiftly converted over the weekend into what is almost certainly the world’s most luxurious prison.

In a shaky video that appears from its metadata to have been shot early Monday morning in the hotel’s Ballroom B, people can be seen lying on mats covered with brightly colored blankets in floral motifs while guards in dark uniforms are visible in the background. In a corner stands a rifle, which appears to be an American standard military-issue M4, its civilian variant or a copycat.

The ballroom appeared to be a makeshift barracks for guards, while the V.I.P. detainees were being held in some of the hotel’s 492 guest rooms and suites. A search of the hotel’s reservation page on Tuesday showed that it was “not available for check-in” until December 16.

Saudi Arabia finds itself in the midst of a crackdown on corruption that began on Saturday night with the arrest of dozens of people, at least 11 of whom were princes, including the billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. By Monday, American officials tracking the situation said that has many as 500 people had been rounded up in the ongoing sweep.
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Saudi crackdown targets up to $800 billion in assets

The Saudi government is aiming to confiscate cash and other assets worth as much as $800 billion in its broadening crackdown on alleged corruption among the kingdom’s elite, according to people familiar with the matter.

Several prominent businessmen are among those who have been arrested in the days since Saudi authorities launched the crackdown on Saturday, by detaining more than 60 princes, officials and other prominent Saudis, according to those people and others.

The country’s central bank, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, said late Tuesday that it has frozen the bank accounts of “persons of interest” and said the move is “in response to the Attorney General’s request pending the legal cases against them.”

The purge is the most extensive of the kingdom’s elite in recent history. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the son of King Salman, was named heir to the throne in June and has moved to consolidate power. He has said that tackling corruption at the highest level is necessary to overhaul what has long been an oil-dependent economy.

The crackdown could also help replenish state coffers. The government has said that assets accumulated through corruption will become state property, and people familiar with the matter say the government estimates the value of assets it can reclaim at up to 3 trillion Saudi riyal, or $800 billion.
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