patrick.net

Wealthy Saudi princes were tortured, blackmailed and ordered to hand over money from Swiss bank deposits on the 'night of the beating' three years ago when crown prince Mohammed bin Salman purged the Saudi elite, according to a new account.

The November 2017 round-up at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh was officially described as a crackdown on corruption but was widely seen as a power grab by a crown prince determined to modernise the kingdom.

Speaking to the Guardian, one source described how 'everyone was blindfolded and nearly everyone was subjected to what Egyptian intelligence calls the night of the beating', which saw princes and tycoons beaten and tied to the walls.

Some of the prisoners were threatened with the revelation of extramarital affairs or suspect business dealings, according to detainees at the five-star prison.

However, some of MBS's interrogators proved clueless when it came to financial matters, leading to odd requests to Swiss banks which drew suspicion in Europe.