Mohammed bin Salman Will Oliver | Pool | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Saudi Arabia has wrapped up a long-running corruption probe that captured the market's attention in 2017 after the kingdom detained dozens of prominent princes and businessmen. The Saudi Royal Court on Wednesday said the kingdom has retrieved more than 400 billion Saudi riyals — or about $106 billion — in cash, real estate and other assets. The wave of arrests in November 2017 caught the world by surprise and turned the Ritz-Carlton in the capital city of Riyadh into a gilded prison for the scores of Saudis swept up in the campaign. The kingdom cast the detentions as part of a crackdown on entrenched corruption, while some observers said the detentions were orchestrated to consolidate power under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the next in line to King Salman bin Abdulaziz. Prince Mohammed chaired the corruption committee.

Allegations of abuse and reports that detainees were being asked to exchange their assets for freedom rattled the market at a time when Saudi Arabia was accelerating its bid to attract foreign investment. The arrests came just days after the Saudis hosted an inaugural international investment summit in Riyadh. Among the prominent detainees were Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Saudi Arabia's most prominent investor, and Prince Mutaib al-Saud, the former head of the country's National Guard. Concerns about Prince Mohammed's rule following the arrests were compounded one year later when Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi went missing after entering a Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. After initially denying any responsibility, the kingdom admitted Saudi agents had killed Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and U.S. resident, inside the consulate. The Saudis say the killing was the act of rogue operatives, but the CIA has reportedly concluded the slaying was premeditated and Prince Mohammed was likely complicit. The Khashoggi crisis led many companies, including CNBC, to drop out of the second annual investment summit in Riyadh in November. While the killing has raised questions about foreign direct investment into Saudi Arabia, a recent Saudi bond sale attracted heavy international interest.