Businessman Sabih al-Masri has reportedly been released by Saudi authorities, after being detained last week in relation to the kingdom's ongoing corruption investigation.
The 80-year-old Palestinian founder of Zara Investment Holding, who holds Saudi, Irish, and Jordanian nationality, said that investigators had treated him with "all respect", according to Reuters.
Sources close to Al-Masri reported that he had been detained last Tuesday when he traveled to Riyadh for business. Associates had cautioned him against traveling to the kingdom, as numerous leading businessmen and members of the royal family have been caught up in the anti-corruption purge.
However, Al-Masri assured his colleagues and associates that he was not concerned, as he has nothing to hide. Although the billionaire was detained for several days, no charges were filed and he has now relocated to his home in Riyadh, with plans to return to Jordan after concluding his business, according to Middle Eastern media reports.
More than 300 businessmen, former and current government officials and princes have been detained in an ongoing investigation into widespread corruption in Saudi Arabia.
"Most detainees faced with corruption allegations by the committee agreed to a settlement. The necessary arrangements are being finalized to conclude such agreements," Attorney General Saud al-Mojeb said earlier this month.
Al-Mojeb explained that the amount of "misappropriated and unused public funds may exceed $100 billion".
While some have raised concerns about negative financial ripple effects, as so many prominent wealthy investors and business leaders remain detained, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who initiated the purge, has dismissed such worries.
"We have experts making sure no businesses are bankrupted in the process," Prince Mohammed told The New York Times.
"Our country has suffered a lot from corruption from the 1980s until today. The calculation of our experts is that roughly 10 percent of all government spending was siphoned off by corruption each year, from the top levels to the bottom," the prince explained.
"You have to send a signal, and the signal going forward now is, ‘You will not escape.’ And we are already seeing the impact."