Amman - Sabih al-Masri, Jordan's most
influential businessman and the chairman of its largest lender
Arab Bank, was detained in Saudi Arabia for
questioning after a business trip to Riyadh, family sources and
friends said on Saturday.
Masri's detention, which follows the biggest purge of the
Saudi kingdom's affluent elite in its modern history, has sent
shockwaves through business circles in Jordan and the
Palestinian territories, where the billionaire has major
investments.
A Saudi citizen of Palestinian origin, Masri was detained
last Tuesday hours before he was planning to leave after he
chaired meetings of companies he owns, according to the sources.
He is the founder of Saudi Astra Group, which has wide
interests in diversified industries ranging from agro-industry
to telecommunications, construction and mining across the
region.
"Masri was heading to the airport and they told him to stay
where you are and they picked him up," said a source familiar
with the matter who asked not to be named.
He cancelled a dinner in Amman on Wednesday that he had
invited board members of Arab Bank and business associates to
attend on his return.
Masri could not be reached for comment. The Saudi
authorities did not respond to requests for comment.
Confidants said Masri had been warned not to travel to the
Saudi capital after mass arrests of Saudi royals, ministers and
businessmen in early November.
"He has been answering questions about his business and
partners," said a source familiar with the matter who did not
elaborate nor confirm he was held.
POLITICAL MOTIVE
Reasons for Masri's detention were not clear but political
sources said the Saudis might have used him to put pressure on
Jordan's King Abdullah not to attend a Muslim summit last week
to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognise
Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
The Jordanian monarch attended the Istanbul summit, however.
He is a custodian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem and has been
vocal in criticising Trump over his decision on Jerusalem.
Saudi Arabia, whose relations with the United States have
warmed with Trump taking a harder line against its arch-rival
Iran than his predecessor, appears to have taken a softer line
on the decision on Jerusalem, according to analysts. Riyadh sent
a junior minister to the Istanbul meeting.
Masri, who comes from a prominent merchant family from
Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, amassed a fortune from
partnering with influential Saudis in a major catering business
to supply troops during the U.S.-led military operation to
retake Kuwait from Iraq in the 1991 Gulf War.
Reports of his detention surfaced on Thursday in the local
media in Jordan where Masri's multi-billion dollar investments
in hotels and banking are a cornerstone of the economy.
He was elected chairman of Arab Bank in 2012 after the
resignation of Abdel Hamid Shoman whose family had founded the
bank in Jerusalem in 1930.
The bank, which has earned a reputation of resilience in the
face of political upheaval, played a prominent role in
supporting former Palestinian leader, the late Yasser Arafat
during past Middle East turmoil.
Arab Bank, which operates in 30 countries and five
continents, has an extensive network in Palestinian territories
where it is the largest bank. It also owns 40 percent of Saudi
Arabia's Arab National Bank ANB.
Masri led consortium of Arab and Jordanian investors who
bought a 20 percent stake in Arab Bank Group from Lebanon's
Hariri family business empire for $1.12 billion last February.
He was also instrumental in agreeing in 2015 to settle
litigation brought by hundreds of Americans who accused Arab
Bank of providing financial services in the West Bank that
facilitated militant attacks in Israel.
They had sued Arab Bank under the U.S Anti-Terrorism Act,
which permits U.S. citizens to pursue claims arising from
international terrorism.
Masri is also the leading investor in the Palestinian
territories with a large stake in Paltel, a public shareholding
company, which is the largest private sector firm in the West
Bank.
Masri's family ranks among the wealthiest in the Palestinian
territories, with majority holdings in real estate, hotels and
telecommunications firms set up after a self-rule agreement with
Israel in 1993.