Since taking office as Saudi Crown Prince, Mohamed bin Salman (MBS) has raised bright slogans to combat corruption, and he has even arrested dozens of princes and businessmen on corruption charges. However, with time passing, the country has experienced a series of financial crises, budget deficits, and a decline in the real growth rates of the economy.
Last January, the CEO of the Royal Commission for the City of Al-Ula, Amr bin Saleh Al-Madani, was arrested over major financial crimes and huge corruption charges after being allegedly involved in exploiting his job influence in corruption and money laundering operations.
The news of Ben Saleh’s arrest might have been ignored, but the state-run media turned the story into a significant corruption scandal.
As soon as the official media announced the news, hundreds of social media accounts started speaking about the issue, presenting the Saudi Crown Prince as a leader who fights corruption and a hero who resists corrupters in the country for the sake of his people.
As soon as the official media broke the news, hundreds of social media accounts discussed the story, portraying the Saudi Crown Prince as a hero who stands up to corrupt officials for and as a leader who battles corruption in his nation.
Although legal experts did not rule out Ben Saleh’s corruption, they did criticize the way the media handled the case. They felt that the media’s use of legal procedures that went against legal principles concealed something. How will the man be treated and will he receive an apology if the legal proceedings result in his acquittal?
The fact that MBS permitted his media staff to disparage both people he loves and people he despises demonstrates the chaotic political, legal, and social environment in which the country operates. Essentially, the public prosecution refers such cases to the court so that the legal process can proceed; however, the media conducting investigations and publishing defamatory articles undermined the judiciary’s integrity during MBS’s era.
The strange thing is that some preachers who are close to MBS are taking up the issue, such as Ayed al-Qarni, who did not speak out against the massacres in Gaza, but he interacted with Ben Saleh’s arrest news to express his hypocrisy.
The topic of discussion is not the truthfulness of the charges brought against Amr Al-Madani, but rather the dubious manner in which the media is treating those who disagree with MBS. The only body having jurisdiction over this issue is the judiciary.
It is important to note that Amr Al-Madani is an engineer who graduated from the University of Kansas in the United States with a bachelor’s degree in engineering. He has held a number of important positions, the most notable being:
The CEO of the Entertainment Authority.
The Mishkat Gallery’s executive director.
The National Balloon Federation’s President.
Before state-run media turned him into a symbol of corruption, Amr Al-Madani was hailed as one of the Kingdom’s most successful executives!
It has been noted that Amr Al-Madani’s account does not have any type of vulgar or lowly denomination, in contrast to the highest ranking officials in the Kingdom. Does his arrest have any bearing on this?
If Al-Madani was arrested because he was not immoral, this is a disaster; if he was arrested because he was corrupt, this is an even bigger disaster, since MBS has appointed him.
