Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH – The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh will open its doors for guests again from Feb. 25.

The luxury hotel in the Saudi capital has reopened its website for reservations after a gap of two months since early November 2017 when it was converted into a detention center for scores of princes, ministers and businesspeople who were arrested on graft charges.

During a tour of the hotel grounds on Thursday, Okaz/Saudi Gazette saw the giant gates of the hotel still closed with not much activity or movement visible on the premises.

Sheikh Saud Al-Muajab, the Kingdom's attorney general, said in December that the Supreme Anti-Corruption Committee summoned 320 key Saudi figures to question them on corruption charges. The committee later referred 159 of them to the Public Prosecution for further investigations.

Muajab said most of the businessmen and officials facing graft charges agreed to the committee's conditions for a settlement with the government and the procedures for their release are under way.

After examining the case files referred to it , the Public Prosecution decided to retain some of the individuals in custody and release the others.

The anti-graft committee had frozen the bank accounts of the 376 detainees and their relatives as part of the crackdown.