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===2017 purge===
{{Main|2017 Saudi Arabian purge}}
In May 2017, Mohammed bin Salman publicly warned "I confirm to you, no one will survive in a corruption case—whoever he is, even if he's a prince or a minister".<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-09/the-saudi-purge-isn-t-just-a-power-grab|title=The Saudi Purge Isn't Just a Power Grab|first1=Peter|last1=Waldman|first2=Glen|last2=Carey|work=[[Bloomberg Businessweek]]|date=9 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111224358/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-09/the-saudi-purge-isn-t-just-a-power-grab|archive-date=11 November 2017|url-status=dead|access-date=12 November 2017}}</ref> In November 2017, he ordered some 200 wealthy businessmen and princes to be placed under house arrest in [[The Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh|Riyadh's Ritz Carlton]] hotel.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/15/opinions/how-the-saudis-played-trump-bergen/index.html|title=Trump's uncritical embrace of MBS set the stage for Khashoggi crisis|work=[[CNN]]|first1=Peter|last1=Bergen|date=17 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181104054944/https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/15/opinions/how-the-saudis-played-trump-bergen/index.html|archive-date=4 November 2018|url-status=live|access-date=13 January 2019}}</ref> On 4 November 2017, the Saudi press announced the arrest of the Saudi prince and billionaire [[Al-Waleed bin Talal]], a frequent English-language news commentator and a major shareholder in [[Citi]], [[News Corp (2013–present)|News Corp]] and [[Twitter]], as well as over 40 princes and government ministers at the behest of the Crown Prince on corruption and [[money laundering]] charges.<ref name="Daily Sabah 2">{{cite news|url=https://www.dailysabah.com/mideast/2017/11/05/alwaleed-bin-talal-two-other-billionaires-tycoons-among-saudi-arrests|title=Alwaleed bin Talal, two other billionaires tycoons among Saudi arrests|newspaper=Daily Sabah|date=4 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171105032442/https://www.dailysabah.com/mideast/2017/11/05/alwaleed-bin-talal-two-other-billionaires-tycoons-among-saudi-arrests|archive-date=5 November 2017}}</ref>
Others arrested or fired in the purge included [[Mutaib bin Abdullah]], head of the [[Saudi Arabian National Guard]], [[Adel Fakeih]], the Minister of Economy and Planning, and the Commander of the Saudi Naval Forces, Admiral Abdullah bin Sultan bin Mohammed Al-Sultan.<ref name="Daily Sabah 2"/><ref name="NYT">{{cite news|first=David D.|last=Kirkpatrick|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/04/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-waleed-bin-talal.html|title=Saudi Arabia Arrests 11 Princes, Including Billionaire Waleed bin Talal|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108003504/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/04/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-waleed-bin-talal.html|archive-date=8 November 2017}}</ref>
One hypothesis for the arrests was that they were part of a power grab on the part of bin Salman. ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote:
{{cquote| The sweeping campaign of arrests appears to be the latest move to consolidate the power of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the favorite son and top adviser of King Salman. The king had decreed the creation of a powerful new anticorruption committee, headed by the crown prince, only hours before the committee ordered the arrests.<ref name="NYT"/>}} Writing for ''[[HuffPost|The Huffington Post]]'', [[University of Delaware]] professor of Islam and Global Affairs, [[Muqtedar Khan]], speculated as to whether the removal of Al-Waleed bin Talal, a critic of [[Donald Trump]], amounted to a coup.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/power-consolidation-or-failed-coup-in-saudi-arabia_us_59fe47b5e4b0d467d4c225ab|title=Power Consolidation Or Failed Coup In Saudi Arabia?|first=Muqtedar|last=Khan|date=4 November 2017|work=[[HuffPost]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171105075756/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/power-consolidation-or-failed-coup-in-saudi-arabia_us_59fe47b5e4b0d467d4c225ab|archive-date=5 November 2017|url-status=live|access-date=6 November 2017}}</ref> BBC correspondent [[Frank Gardner (journalist)|Frank Gardner]] was quoted as saying that "Prince Mohammed is moving to consolidate his growing power while spearheading a reform programme". Yet "[i]t is not clear what those detained are suspected of."<ref name="BBC">{{cite web|first=Frank|last=Gardner|authorlink=Frank Gardner (journalist)|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-41874117|title=Saudi princes among dozens detained in anti-corruption purge|website=[[BBC]]|date=5 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171105041957/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-41874117|archive-date=5 November 2017}}</ref>
Another hypothesis was that the purge was part of a move towards reform. Steven Mufson of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' argues that Crownbin Prince MohammedSalman "knows that only if he can place the royal family under the law, and not above as it was in the past, can he ask the whole country to change their attitudes relative to taxes [and] subsidies."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/what-the-royal-purge-means-for-saudi-arabia--and-its-oil/2017/11/06/9cba9142-c256-11e7-afe9-4f60b5a6c4a0_story.html|title=What the royal purge means for Saudi Arabia — and its oil|first=Steven|last=Mufson|date=6 November 2017|work=[[The Washington Post]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106215724/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/what-the-royal-purge-means-for-saudi-arabia--and-its-oil/2017/11/06/9cba9142-c256-11e7-afe9-4f60b5a6c4a0_story.html|archive-date=6 November 2017|url-status=live|access-date=6 November 2017}}</ref> An analysis from the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] claimed that "the clampdown against corruption resonates with ordinary Saudis who feel that the state has been asking them to accept belt tightening while, at the same time, they see corruption and the power elite accumulating more wealth".<ref>{{cite news|first=Derek|last=Stoffel|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/saudi-arabia-s-young-crown-prince-moves-boldly-to-secure-his-grip-on-power-1.4388970|title=Saudi Arabia 'at a crossroads': What the arrests of several princes mean for the kingdom's future|website=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC|]]|date=November 6, 2017|access-date=November 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106164852/http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/saudi-arabia-s-young-crown-prince-moves-boldly-to-secure-his-grip-on-power-1.4388970|archive-date=6 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Bin Salman's reform agenda is widely popular with Saudi Arabia's burgeoning youth population, but faces resistance from some of the old guard more comfortable with the kingdom's traditions of incremental change and rule by consensus.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.821313|title=The Saudi purge: The real reason behind Mohammed bin Salman's unprecedented crackdown|last=Pfeffer|first=Anshel|date=8 November 2017|website=Middle East News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111090003/https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.821313|archive-date=11 November 2017|url-status=live|access-date=11 November 2017}}</ref> According to a former British ambassador to Riyadh, Mohammed bin Salman "is the first prince in modern Saudi history whose constituency has not been within the royal family, it's outside it. It's been young Saudis, particularly younger Saudi men in the street".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://time.com/5012396/saudi-arabia-prince-alwaleed-bin-talal-arrested/|title=Inside the Arrest of Saudi Arabia's Alwaleed bin Talal|first=Jared|last=Malsin|date=6 November 2017|work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=11 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109053549/http://time.com/5012396/saudi-arabia-prince-alwaleed-bin-talal-arrested/|archive-date=9 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The 2018 Arab Youth Survey found that nine out of ten 18–24 year-olds in the [[MENA]] region support Mohammed bin Salman's campaign against corruption.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thenational.ae/uae/arab-youth-survey-2018-saudi-crown-prince-and-his-reforms-win-huge-support-from-young-people-across-the-middle-east-1.728098|title=Arab Youth Survey 2018: Saudi Crown Prince and his reforms win huge support from young people across the Middle East|first=James|last=Langton|date=8 May 2018|website=www.thenational.ae|access-date=10 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143007/https://www.thenational.ae/uae/arab-youth-survey-2018-saudi-crown-prince-and-his-reforms-win-huge-support-from-young-people-across-the-middle-east-1.728098|archive-date=12 June 2018|url-status=live|first2=Gillian|last2=Duncan}}</ref>
[[Robert W. Jordan|Robert Jordan]], former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said that "certainly Saudi Arabia has had a corruption problem for many years. I think the population, especially, has been very unhappy with princes coming in and grabbing business deals, with public funds going to flood control projects that never seem to get built... I would also say it's a classical power grab move sometimes to arrest your rivals, your potential rivals under the pretext of corruption".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/06/saudi-crackdown-would-be-like-the-us-arresting-warren-buffett.html|title=Saudi crackdown 'would be like' the US arresting Warren Buffett|first=Matthew J.|last=Belvedere|work=[[CNBC]]|date=November 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108034640/https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/06/saudi-crackdown-would-be-like-the-us-arresting-warren-buffett.html|archive-date=November 8, 2017|url-status=live|access-date=November 11, 2017}}</ref>
Trump expressed support for the move, tweeting "I have great confidence in King Salman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, they know exactly what they are doing....Some of those they are harshly treating have been 'milking' their country for years!"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/927673257230327808|title=I have great confidence in King Salman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, they know exactly what they are doing....Some of those they are harshly treating have been 'milking' their country for years!|first=Donald J.|last=Trump|authorlink=Donald J. Trump|date=6 November 2017|work=[[Twitter]]|number=927673257230327808|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110163051/https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/927673257230327808|archive-date=10 November 2017|url-status=live|access-date=11 November 2017}}</ref> French President [[Emmanuel Macron|Macron]], who visited Riyadh days after the purge, when asked about the purge stated "this is not the role of a president, and similarly I would not expect a leader of a foreign country to come and infringe on domestic matters,"<ref>{{cite news|first1=Abdullah|last1=Al-Shihri|first2=Aya|last2=Batrawyi|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-saudi-arabia-corruption-probe-20171109-story.html|title=More than 200 detained in Saudi Arabia in $100 billion corruption sweep|date=October 25, 2017|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111051249/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-saudi-arabia-corruption-probe-20171109-story.html|archive-date=November 11, 2017|url-status=live|access-date=November 11, 2017}}</ref>
On 30 January 2019, the Saudi government announced the conclusion of the Anti-Corruption Committee's work.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1880379#1880379|title=Statement by the Royal Court: Anti Corruption Committee Concludes Its Tasks The official Saudi Press Agency|website=spa.gov.sa|access-date=25 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2019/01/30/Saudi-king-presented-with-final-corruption-crackdown-report-107-bln-recovered.html|title=Saudi king presented with final corruption crackdown report, $107 bln recovered|work=[[Al Arabiya]]|language=en|date=30 January 2019|access-date=25 February 2019}}</ref> According to the Corruption Perceptions Index, Saudi Arabia is slowly improving its public sector, while figures of 2016 indicated a score of 46, whereby 0 implies a highly corrupt score and 100 a clear one, the index gives Saudi Arabia a score of 49 in 2017 and 2018, and 53 in 2019 the highest score achieved by Saudi Arabia until now.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Corruption Perceptions Index 2019 for New Zealand|url=https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2019/index/nzl|access-date=February 15, 2021|website=Transparency.org|language=en}}</ref>
According to the Corruption Perceptions Index, Saudi Arabia is slowly improving its public sector, while figures of 2016 indicated a score of 46, whereby 0 implies a highly corrupt score and 100 a clear one, the index gives Saudi Arabia a score of 49 in 2017 and 2018, and 53 in 2019 the highest score achieved by Saudi Arabia until now.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Corruption Perceptions Index 2019 for New Zealand|url=https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2019/index/nzl|access-date=February 15, 2021|website=Transparency.org|language=en}}</ref>
==Administration==
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