Saudi Arabian authorities arrested 38 high-profile figures on Saturday, including princes and current and former ministers on “anti-corruption” charges. Eleven princes, four current ministers and dozens of former ministers were among those who were detained. The arrest orders came from an anti-corruption committee just hours after the King Salman issued a Royal Decree to form the committee, which is headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. However, there are 500 more people to be arrested and detained, according to reports.

Dozens of senior executives from military and civilian bureaucracy are expected to be detained by the commission in the upcoming days. It will be end of a period for the Saud family after Mohammad bin Salman becomes king in Saudi Arabia, where 30 sons of the founder of Saudi Arabia, Ibn Saud are still heir to throne.

Saudi Arabia said on Sunday that it will freeze assets of 38 of the detainees, including the 11 princes. Saudi’s attorney general stated that the arrest of the key figures so far is only “phase one” of the probe, and that new operations will be launched as part of the major anti-corruption purge.

“Yesterday does not represent the start, but the completion of Phase One of our anti-corruption push,” Attorney General Sheikh Saud Al Mojeb said on Monday.

Private jets have also been suspended in Saudi airports to prevent attempts to flee the country.

Saudi Arabia to freeze assets of corruption suspects Saudi Arabia late Sunday said it will freeze the assets of dozens of businessmen and officials detained in a major anti-corruption purge.“The amounts, which prove to be linked to corruption issues, would be returned to the treasury of the State of Saudi Arabia,” the Information Ministry said in a statement.On Saturday, Saudi authorities detained 11 princes, four sitting ministers and a dozen of former ministers in a massive anti-corruption sweep.Saudi Arabia arrests princes, ministers for corruptionSaudi media said billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and National Guard minister Prince Miteb bin Abdullah were among those detained in the sweep.The arrests came hours after an anti-corruption committee, under Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, was formed by a royal decree.According to the official SPA news agency, the anti-corruption committee has the authority to investigate, arrest, ban from travel, disclose and freeze accounts and portfolios, track funds and assets of individuals involved in corruption.The committee has already announced that it would reopen the case of the 2009 Jeddah floods in which more than 100 victims died, and investigate the outbreak of the Corona virus, also known as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2012.Saudi stocks drop after corruption probe detains businessmen, officials

What happened in the Mideast after Trump's Saudi visit? Since U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia on May 20, 2017, tensions have run high in the Middle East and critical developments have taken place.May 20 - Trump’s visit do RiyadhDuring his visit to the country, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia. Joining Saudi King Salman’s traditional sword dance, Trump also touched a glowing orb with Egypt’s putschist General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and King Salman.June 5 – Qatar crisisFollowing the cyber-attack row between Qatar and the Arab states on May 23, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen announced that they had cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing Qatar of “supporting terrorism,” charges which Doha denies.June 21 – New crown princeKing Salman ended a tradition in his country and named his 31-year-old son Mohammed bin Salman next in line instead of the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef. This change was interpreted as a “soft coup.”July 30 – Al-Sadr in Saudi ArabiaIraq's influential Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr visited Saudi Arabia upon an official invitation for the first time in 11 years.Sept. 25 – Illegitimate referendum in the KRGIraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) held an illegitimate “independence referendum” although many countries opposed the vote, including Turkey.Oct. 12 – Hamas and Fatah reconciliationThe Hamas and Fatah movements signed a “reconciliation deal” within the ongoing negotiations in Egypt, ending a conflict in Palestine.Oct. 13 – Nuclear deal in CongressRecently putting more pressure on Iran, U.S. President Trump withdrew his support from the nuclear deal signed in 2015, and put the fate of the deal in the Congress’ hands.Oct. 24 – Saudi Arabia returns to ‘moderate Islam’Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stated that his country will return to “moderate Islam” and that they will end “extremism” soon.Nov. 2 – Iran and al-Qaeda link in Bin Laden documentsIran’s links to al-Qaeda have been revealed after U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) released around 470,000 documents seized in a raid of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden’s house.Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE role in Hariri’s resignationTrump spoke to Saudi King after probeFMs of anti-Qatar bloc hold talks in Abu DhabiIran displays missile, calls Trump 'crazy' in marking 1979 US embassy takeover

Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed detained in corruption inquiry Saudi authorities detained a billionaire global investor and the head of the National Guard as part of an anti-corruption probe.Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who owns investment firm Kingdom Holding, was among 11 princes, four ministers and tens of former ministers detained, two senior Saudi officials told Reuters on Sunday.A top security official, Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, was detained and replaced as minister of the powerful National Guard by Prince Khaled bin Ayyaf. This consolidates Prince Mohammed's bin Salman's control of security institutions which had previously been headed by separate branches of the ruling family. News of the purge came in the early hours of Sunday after King Salman decreed the creation of an anti-corruption committee chaired by his 32-year-old son Prince Mohammed, who has amassed power since rising from obscurity less than three years ago.The new body was given broad powers to investigate cases, issue arrest warrants and travel restrictions and freeze assets."The homeland will not exist unless corruption is uprooted and the corrupt are held accountable," the royal decree said.‘The front that will move the war to the heart of Islam is being formed’Analysts said the goal of the purge went beyond corruption and aimed to remove potential opposition to Prince Mohammed as he pushes an ambitious and controversial reform agenda.In September he announced that a ban on women driving would be lifted and he is trying to break decades of conservative tradition by promoting public entertainment and visits by foreign tourists.In economic policy, he has slashed state spending in some areas and plans a big sale of state assets.Bin Laden’s brother arrested in Saudi probe"The most recent crackdown breaks with the tradition of consensus within the ruling family whose secretive inner workings are equivalent to those of the Kremlin at the time of the Soviet Union," wrote James Dorsey, a senior fellow at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies."Prince Mohammed, rather than forging alliances, is extending his iron grip to the ruling family, the military, and the National Guard to counter what appears to be more widespread opposition within the family as well as the military to his reforms and the Yemen war," Dorsey said.An economist at a big Gulf bank, who declined to be named because of political sensitivities, said nobody in Saudi Arabia believed corruption was at the root of the purge.Israeli PM associates detained in corruption probe"It's about consolidating power and frustration that reforms haven't been happening fast enough," the economist said.ALARM BELLSThe round-up sets alarm bells ringing across the region and beyond. It also recalls the palace coup in June through which Mohammad bin Salman ousted his elder cousin, Mohammad bin Nayef, as heir to the throne and interior minister.MbS, as he is known, was widely expected to follow through by, at the least, removing Prince Miteb bin Abdallah from leadership of the National Guard, a pivotal power-base rooted in the kingdom's tribes.Other detainees include former finance minister Ibrahim al-Assaf, a board member of national oil giant Saudi Aramco; economy minister Adel Fakieh, who once played a major role in drafting reforms; former Riyadh governor Prince Turki bin Abdullah and Khalid al-Tuwaijiri, who headed the Royal Court under the late King Abdullah.Saudi Arabia arrests princes, ministers for corruptionPrince Alwaleed is one of Saudi Arabia's best-known international businessmen as an investor in firms such as Citigroup and Twitter.Bakr bin Laden, chairman of the big Saudi Binladin construction group, and Alwaleed al-Ibrahim, owner of the MBC television network, were also detained.Some detainees were believed to be held at the opulent Ritz-Carlton hotel in the diplomatic quarter of Riyadh, sources in contact with the government told Reuters. The hotel and an adjacent facility were the site of an international conference promoting Saudi Arabia as an investment destination last month.After arrests, Saudi scholars back anti-graft effortsThe detentions followed a crackdown in September on political opponents of Saudi Arabia's rulers that saw some 30 clerics, intellectuals and activists detained.Prince Alwaleed, a flamboyant character, has sometimes used his prominence as an investor to aim barbs at the kingdom's rulers.In December 2015, Prince Alwaleed called U.S. President Donald Trump, who was then a candidate, a "disgrace to all America" and demanded on his Twitter account that he withdraw from the election.Trump responded by tweeting: "Dopey Prince @Alwaleed_Talal wants to control our U.S. politicians with daddy’s money. Can't do it when I get elected."In November 2016 Prince Alwaleed put aside the clash with Trump and embraced him as the U.S. president-elect, saying he was heartened by reports that Trump had appeared to delete online references to his proposed ban on Muslims.