Saudi freezes accounts of 376 people in graft probe

ANKARA

Saudi Arabia has frozen the bank accounts of 376 people over their alleged involvement in corruption, local media said Tuesday.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency reported that Attorney General Sheikh Saud Al-Mujib said the accounts were frozen by the public prosecution office “as a precautionary measure”.

It added that all of the account holders were “either detainees for linked to their corruption allegations”.

On Nov. 5, the Saudi authorities detained 11 princes, four sitting ministers, a dozen former ministers, deputies and businessmen in a massive anti-corruption sweep.

The mass arrests were launched hours after an anti-corruption committee under Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman was formed by a royal decree.

“The number of individuals subpoenaed by the committee stands at 320 individuals,” the attorney general’s statement said, adding that 159 people had been detained.