Rich families buy second citizenship in post-Ritz Saudi Arabia
Political repression following the rise of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman has pushed some wealthy Saudis to buy second passports.
“I have clients who escaped the Ritz-Carlton event because they were prudent enough to secure second citizenship beforehand. … The moment you hire me you are admitting to yourself that there is a danger,” David Lesperance, a Canadian lawyer who has advised dozens of affluent Gulf families since the early 1990s, told Al-Monitor.
In November 2017, 381 prominent Saudi businessmen, royals and officials were caught up in the "anti-corruption" crackdown led by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
Saudi authorities reportedly pressured a quarter of Ritz-Carlton detainees, including through physical abuse, to hand over to the state assets worth a total of over $106 billion.
Ryan Bohl is a Middle East analyst at the US-based geopolitical-risk firm Stratfor. He told Al-Monitor anti-corruption campaigns led by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are now “used to seize assets of those the state sees as disloyal.”
