The Saudi authorities continue to detain Saudi billionaire, Mohammed Al-Amoudi; the largest investor in Ethiopia’s Renaissance Dam, the New York Times reports. Amoudi was detained in November, last year in the kingdom’s anti-corruption campaign.
The paper the man’s fate is still unknown, despite the Saudi authorities claim that he was released with all other detainees about two months ago.
The Sheikh’s press office responded to the newspaper’s inquiry about his whereabouts saying “he was in the Ritz-Carlton, but we have been told by his family members that he was moved, along with others, to another hotel”.
“Unfortunately we do not know where. He is in regular contact with his family and is being treated well” it added.
Al-Amoudi was once considered the richest black man by Forbes Magazine, with a fortune worth more than $9 billion. Al Amoudi employs more than 70,000 workers around the world.
The newspaper said Al Amoudi moved to Saudi Arabia as a teenager, however little is known about how he made his vast wealth, though he is believed to have managed to forge influential connections. According to the newspaper, the billionaire’s most important connections was forged with Prince Sultan bin Abdel Aziz, who served as defence minister and crown prince before his death in 2011. “Sheikh Amoudi ran businesses that depended on the prince’s money and position” it said.
Three years after the attack on the World Trade Center, on September, 11 2001 Amoudi faced terrorism charges because of his funding of controversial Islamic charities, but the lawsuit was dropped a year later.
