<div align="justify">Saudi Arabia's attorney general said on Tuesday $107 billion has been recovered so far in a major crackdown on high-level corruption and that 56 suspects were still being investigated.<br /><br />Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb said he has completed inquiries into 381 high-profile corruption suspects and decided to keep 56 in custody and free the rest.<br /><br />Those released include individuals proven not guilty but also others who had agreed financial settlements with the government after admitting corruption charges, he said.<br /><br />Total settlements with the suspects had topped 400 billion riyals ($107 billion) in various forms of assets handed over that included property, securities and cash.<br /><br />In November, the authorities launched an unprecedented anti-graft swoop that netted hundreds of members of the extended royal family, top businessmen and officials.<br /><br />The anti-corruption drive was led by Mohammed bin Salman, the 32-year-old crown prince and author of the "Vision 2030" programme of social and economic reforms in the ultra-conservative Muslim Gulf nation.<br /><br />Among those detained was one of the desert kingdom's most high-profile and wealthiest men, Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal.<br /><br />The man dubbed the Warren Buffett of Saudi Arabia was released on Saturday after striking an undisclosed financial agreement with the authorities.<br /><br />He remains chairman of the Kingdom Holding Company in which he owns a 95-percent stake.<br /><br />Some critics have labelled Prince Mohammed's campaign a shakedown and power grab, but authorities insist the purge targeted endemic corruption as the country prepares for a post-oil era.<br /><br />"The total number of subpoenaed individuals reached 381, a significant number of whom were called to testify or provide evidence," the attorney general said on Tuesday in a statement released by the information ministry.<br /><br />Mojeb said he had decided to "keep in custody those individuals -- 56 in total -- where the attorney general has refused to settle with them due to other pending criminal cases".<br /><br />He said he will continue investigating the 56, but provided no further details about their identities.<br /><br />On Friday, the authorities also released media mogul Waleed al-Ibrahim, owner of influential Arab satellite network MBC.<br /><br />Another high-profile detainee, former National Guard chief Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, was released recently following a "settlement" with the authorities which reportedly exceeded $1 billion.<br /><br />The government said most of those detained agreed monetary settlements in exchange for their freedom.<br /><br />Those caught up in the corruption crackdown were detained at the luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh.<br /><br />The hotel is due to reopen on February 14, and it was not immediately known if any of the 56 still in custody were kept there.<br /><br />The windfall from the settlements will help finance a package announced by King Salman this month to help citizens cope with the rising cost of living, Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan told the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday.<br /><br />He said part of the estimated $13 billion aid package for this year will come from the proceeds of the financial settlements.<br /><br />Saudi Arabia relies heavily on oil income, and introduced a string of austerity measures after crude prices began to slide in mid-2014, resulting in massive budget shortfalls.<br /><br />Riyadh twice raised the prices of fuel and power and imposed excise duty on certain products and a five-percent value-added tax (VAT), in addition to taxing expatriates.<br /><br />Saudi Arabia, which pumps 10 million barrels of oil per day, has posted budget deficits totalling $260 billion over the past four years, and projects a shortfall of $52 billion this year.</div>
<div align="justify">Saudi Arabia's attorney general said on Tuesday $107 billion has been recovered so far in a major crackdown on high-level corruption and that 56 suspects were still being investigated.<br /><br />Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb said he has completed inquiries into 381 high-profile corruption suspects and decided to keep 56 in custody and free the rest.<br /><br />Those released include individuals proven not guilty but also others who had agreed financial settlements with the government after admitting corruption charges, he said.<br /><br />Total settlements with the suspects had topped 400 billion riyals ($107 billion) in various forms of assets handed over that included property, securities and cash.<br /><br />In November, the authorities launched an unprecedented anti-graft swoop that netted hundreds of members of the extended royal family, top businessmen and officials.<br /><br />The anti-corruption drive was led by Mohammed bin Salman, the 32-year-old crown prince and author of the "Vision 2030" programme of social and economic reforms in the ultra-conservative Muslim Gulf nation.<br /><br />Among those detained was one of the desert kingdom's most high-profile and wealthiest men, Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal.<br /><br />The man dubbed the Warren Buffett of Saudi Arabia was released on Saturday after striking an undisclosed financial agreement with the authorities.<br /><br />He remains chairman of the Kingdom Holding Company in which he owns a 95-percent stake.<br /><br />Some critics have labelled Prince Mohammed's campaign a shakedown and power grab, but authorities insist the purge targeted endemic corruption as the country prepares for a post-oil era.<br /><br />"The total number of subpoenaed individuals reached 381, a significant number of whom were called to testify or provide evidence," the attorney general said on Tuesday in a statement released by the information ministry.<br /><br />Mojeb said he had decided to "keep in custody those individuals -- 56 in total -- where the attorney general has refused to settle with them due to other pending criminal cases".<br /><br />He said he will continue investigating the 56, but provided no further details about their identities.<br /><br />On Friday, the authorities also released media mogul Waleed al-Ibrahim, owner of influential Arab satellite network MBC.<br /><br />Another high-profile detainee, former National Guard chief Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, was released recently following a "settlement" with the authorities which reportedly exceeded $1 billion.<br /><br />The government said most of those detained agreed monetary settlements in exchange for their freedom.<br /><br />Those caught up in the corruption crackdown were detained at the luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh.<br /><br />The hotel is due to reopen on February 14, and it was not immediately known if any of the 56 still in custody were kept there.<br /><br />The windfall from the settlements will help finance a package announced by King Salman this month to help citizens cope with the rising cost of living, Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan told the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday.<br /><br />He said part of the estimated $13 billion aid package for this year will come from the proceeds of the financial settlements.<br /><br />Saudi Arabia relies heavily on oil income, and introduced a string of austerity measures after crude prices began to slide in mid-2014, resulting in massive budget shortfalls.<br /><br />Riyadh twice raised the prices of fuel and power and imposed excise duty on certain products and a five-percent value-added tax (VAT), in addition to taxing expatriates.<br /><br />Saudi Arabia, which pumps 10 million barrels of oil per day, has posted budget deficits totalling $260 billion over the past four years, and projects a shortfall of $52 billion this year.</div>