By orders of Bin Salman… Reuters revealed official defamation campaign against Muhammad bin Nayef
By orders of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is using all methods to eliminate his rival for power, the former crown prince Muhammad bin Nayef is facing a campaign of defamation and incitement, Reuters said.
Reuters said in a report that thousands of tweets accused bin Nayef and his assistant, former Canadian-based security official Saad al-Jabri, of corruption and embezzlement of funds.
The agency quoted two Saudi sources as saying that the campaign carried out by pro-government activists on Twitter appears to be aimed at influencing public opinion and slandering Prince Muhammad bin Nayef ahead of announcing the expected allegations of corruption.
The agency said, quoting another source, that the campaign is supported by the government, and that those close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are republishing it.
Reuters also quoted Khaled al-Jabri, son of Saad al-Jabri, as saying that the campaign aims to dismiss the real issue, which is taking al-Jabri’s son and daughter as hostages.
The Twitter campaign against Muhammad bin Nayef came in conjunction with the entry of King Salman, 84, to hospital for tests after suffering from cholecystitis, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Muhammad bin Nayef, before he was overthrown, was the most important competitor to the throne, as the security forces in the country are loyal to him where he developed close ties with Western intelligence, and he still enjoys popularity among the conservatives whom the current crown prince marginalized, Reuters said.
The agency added that the media office of the Saudi government did not respond to a request to comment on the matter, and that it was unable to reach Muhammad bin Nayef, his lawyer, or Al-Jabri to comment on the said campaign.
Western newspapers, including the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, have revealed in recent weeks some features of what they described Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to get rid of former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef.
In what appears to be the latest chapters in Muhammad bin Nayef’s political – and possibly physical – liquidation through a judicial decision, the American Washington Post, quoting Saudi and American sources, revealed that the Saudi crown prince’s anti-corruption committee is close to completing a detailed investigation into allegations of corruption and betrayal of Muhammad bin Nayef.
The newspaper reported that the Anti-Corruption Commission is preparing to charge the former crown prince and interior minister with seizing 15 billion dollars while he was running anti-terrorism programs in the Ministry of Interior, through a network of companies and private accounts.
The newspaper quoted – for an unnamed private Saudi source – that the investigators called on Muhammad bin Nayef to pay $15 billion they claim he took over.
The committee says that Muhammad bin Nayef illegally transferred the aforementioned funds through bogus companies and special accounts, but the newspaper indicated that documents seen by close associates of Muhammad bin Nayef revealed that the accusations against him were false.
