Saudi Arabia's wide-ranging anti-corruption probe -- an investigation that became synonymous with the suspects' gilded cage, the Riyadh's Ritz Carlton -- is over. On Jan. 30, the Saudi royal court issued a statement declaring an end to the process after summoning 381 people in total. Saudi authorities said they had managed to reach settlements with 87 individuals, adding that cases into 64 others will continue due to other charges unrelated to graft. Altogether, the probe filled the kingdom's coffers, as the state claimed to have recovered 400 billion riyals ($107 billion) from suspects in the form of real estate, companies, cash and other assets. Thanks to the end of the probe and other measures, Saudi Arabia looks like it will present fewer risks to business in 2019, yet the kingdom's core political dynamics, in which the crown prince is able to enact his policy at will, remain unchanged.
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