Saudi crown prince orders arrest of billionaire businessman

A Saudi billionaire, who is embroiled in a high-profile corruption case, was arrested on Wednesday following orders from the kingdom's young crown prince.

Maan al-Sanea was detained after police raided his mansion in the oil-rich Eastern Province and took him in on charges of "evading justice and owing large sums of money to creditors", Sabq reported.

Sanea, who was named in the report only by his initials, was arrested after police combed through his estate before he was found hiding out on the roof of staff housing, the Saudi online newspaper claimed.

It added that arrest warrant was issued by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Local media has published an alleged image of security forces arresting the businessman, who is of Kuwaiti origins.

Sanea has been the centre of the region's longest-running business feud, pitting him against the al-Gosaibi business family.

The family alleges that Sanea, who married into the family, siphoned off $9.1 billion to his own companies mainly based in the Cayman Islands, triggering the collapse of the business empire.

A multibillion-dollar fraud trial in the Cayman Islands between Sanea and his estranged family came to an end in July after more than a year of evidence was laid out.

The judge has yet to deliver his decision in the biggest trial in the history of the Caribbean islands notorious for being a financial haven for the world's super-rich.

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia arrested 22 people, including a Qatari national, for "inciting public feelings" on social media, amid a crackdown on opposition.

The kingdom last month launched a crackdown on dissenters, detaining prominent clerics and activists ahead of a historic government decision to allow women to drive.