(MEMO) — Renowned Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal gave up most of his fortune, including his shares in Saudi Kingdom Holding, in return for his freedom, US Forbes magazine reported.
The magazine cited a source familiar with the settlement agreement reached between the Prince and the Saudi authorities as saying that Prince Alwaleed gave up almost all of his assets and will likely be given an allowance.
The source claimed that if Alwaleed decided to travel abroad he will be accompanied by someone chosen by the Saudi government and that if he leaves the country and does not return to Saudi Arabia, the government will press charges and extradite him.
Forbes said the prince’s spokesman has declined to comment on the reports, while a Saudi embassy spokesman in the United States said the embassy has no information on specific individuals because of Saudi privacy laws.
The largest part of Alwaleed’s $17.4 billion fortune lies in Kingdom Holding which accounts for 95 per cent of his wealth. Kingdom Holdings has shares in many companies including Twitter, Lyft and Citigroup amongst others.
The US magazine explained that it is unclear whether the Saudi government will take the step of officially changing the ownership of Kingdom Holding, adding that the Saudi Stock Market still lists Alwaleed as the 95 per cent shareholder in the company.
The 62-year-old Saudi prince also has a large portfolio of properties outside Riyadh.
Creative Commons / Middle East Monitor / Report a typo
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