Manama: Business tycoon Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal has denied claims he was corrupt and insisted that not anyone who was placed in the Ritz hotel was found guilty of corruption.
The prince was referring to the hotel in the Saudi capital Riyadh where hundreds of high-level politicians and businessmen were kept during a massive crackdown by an ad-hoc committee on graft.
"When I was at the Ritz I was in a huge suite. We watched the news and we followed Western news agencies. I laughed whenever they reported I was sent to Hair (prison) or that an investigating team had arrived from the US to torture me. Other times, they claimed that they suspended me from my feet. It was all lies and allegations."
"I am not corrupt and some people may wonder why I was kept at the Ritz. The Saudi government and the public prosecutor said that not everyone who was at the Ritz was necessarily corrupt."
He said that he had called for anti-corruption measures years ago.
"There were suspicions in some case. There were also people there as witnesses. I, Alwaleed Bin Talal, am not corrupt. I have said it and I fully support the anti-graft drive," he said during a television interview on a private Saudi television.
I, Al Waleed Bin Talal, am not corrupt
"In 2013, I posted a tweet calling for punishing a state official because of the corruption in his institution. He was eventually sacked. I totally support the campaign against graft conducted by my brother the crown prince. It is impossible for the economy to grow if there is corruption."
Alwaleed said that he was turned into pillar of the Ritz and its name has become associated with his.
Alwaleed added that the special treatment was extended to all those kept at the hotel.
"I assure you that none of us was tortured. I did not meet the others, but I saw them. They gave us room service, bringing our breakfast, lunch and dinner. They brought us feasts with lambs, but as I am a vegetarian and I did not eat meat, I gave them to the guards. Everybody was given a five-star treatment and they were all very well respected. All the claims that there was torture are lies and allegations."
The prince said that his daily routine included sleeping after dawn, reading, watching television and exercising, walking three kilometres a day in the large suite.
"I wrote letters to the late King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz that included a warning about the collapse of the Saudi economy. Unfortunately, my letters did not reach him. I then wrote to King Salman when he was crown prince and a related note to Prince Mohammad Bin Salman who promised to look into it and he asked to give him two days. Later, I met King Salman. He consulted with Prince Mohammad who said that he supported my views," Alwaleed said.
"I had close relations with King Salman for long time he helped me with money to buy my first house, and the bond have strengthened with his son Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman."
