Facts about a Jewish businessman appointed by Muhammad bin Salman as his advisor
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman uses the help of a German Jew of Jewish origin as his advisor, which reflects the reality of his policies based on the coup against the values and heritage of Saudi society.
Mohammed bin Salman has restored businessman Klaus Kleinfeld in pushing his economic plan known as Vision 2030, ignoring his history of financial corruption and professional failure.
Klaus Kleinfeld was a frequent guest at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where Ibn Salman got to know him and their relationship began.
In 2017, Ibn Salman summoned Kleinfeld to be on the founding council of the Neum City project, and in the same year he appointed him CEO of this project.
In 2018, Ibn Salman granted him wider powers by appointing him a special economic advisor to leave his position in the presidency of Neum while retaining the membership of his constituent assembly.
But what about the history of Klaus Kleinfeld?
In 2007, Kleinfeld was removed from an executive position in the German company Siemens on the grounds of corruption and embezzlement of millions of euros, and as a result, the European Commission imposed on the company a fine of 419 million euros due to manipulation of energy prices and bribery and corruption charges.
The case was closed after Kleinfeld agreed with 5 other officials to pay 8 million euros in a settlement with Siemens, and Kleinfield paid two million euros of the total amount.
In August 2007, Kleinfeld became CEO of the American aluminum company ALCOA, to be chased by another corruption scandal linked to bribes in Bahrain.
In 2008, the Hawaiian Iron Workers Pension Fund filed a lawsuit against ALCOA and officials, including Kleinfeld, for bribing Bahraini officials to win a contract with Aluminum Alba.
In 2014, ALCOA agreed to pay $384 million to the US Department of Justice to settle the criminal complaint and end the case.
In 2015, Kleinfeld took over the chairmanship of the American company ARCONIC, and was expelled two years later due to his poor performance and failure to achieve profits.
In the same year, bin Salman appointed him CEO of the NEOM project, and after the appointment decision, the Bloomberg website commented, “The Saudi prince instructs the director expelled from Arconic to build a giant city.”
Observers believe that the appointment of Bin Salman, the advisor of Jewish origins in this position, is a good indication of the returns of “Hajj to the Swiss Davos Resort”, in reference to Kleinfeld’s continued attendance at the annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos, which provides a golden opportunity to build relations with decision-makers about the world.
