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<span class="field field-title">Starmer to visit Saudi Arabia and UAE for investment amid human rights accusations</span> <div class="field field-field-subhead">Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund said to be complicit in a range of serious rights abuses, including the murder of Jamal Khashoggi</div> <span class="field field-uid"><a title="View user profile." href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/users/imran-mulla" lang="" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/users/imran-mulla" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" xml:lang="">Imran Mulla</a></span> <span class="field field-created"><time datetime="2024-11-20T10:48:35+00:00" title="20 November 2024 10:48 GMT">Wed, 11/20/2024 - 10:48</time></span> <div class="field field-field-main-image"> <picture><source srcset="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/article_page/public/images-story/000_36MK3D3.jpg.webp?itok=oMvQmEjI 1x" type="image/webp" width="1400" height="788"></source><source srcset="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/article_page/public/images-story/000_36MK3D3.jpg?itok=oMvQmEjI 1x" type="image/jpeg" width="1400" height="788"></source><img loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/article_page/public/images-story/000_36MK3D3.jpg?itok=oMvQmEjI 1x" width="1400" height="788" src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/max_2600x2600/public/images-story/000_36MK3D3.jpg?itok=KRx-ic7_" alt="Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer reacts during an interview as he visits Airbus in Broughton, Flintshire, in north Wales on 15 November (AFP)" typeof="foaf:Image" /></picture></div> <div class="field field-field-cutline">Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer reacts during an interview as he visits Airbus in Broughton, Flintshire, in north Wales on 15 November (AFP)</div> <div class="field field-body clearfix"><p><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/uk">British</a> Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to visit <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/saudi-arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> and the <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/united-arab-emirates">United Arab Emirates</a> (UAE) next month, reportedly seeking investment from sovereign wealth funds such as the <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/11/20/saudi-arabia-public-investment-fund-linked-abuses">Public Investment Fund (PIF)</a>, which is linked to human rights abuses.</p> <p>His slated trip, which has not been officially announced but reported in the British media, comes after Starmer <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/mar/15/boris-johnson-going-from-dictator-to-dictator-for-oil-says-starmer">accused</a> his Conservative predecessor Boris Johnson of going "cap in hand from dictator to dictator" for oil when he visited Saudi Arabia in 2022.</p> <p>Starmer is <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/uk-pm-keir-starmer-visit-saudi-arabia-uae-try-secure-investment-ft-reports-2024-11-20/">understood</a> to be trying to bolster Britain's diplomatic relations with the Gulf states and seek <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/ad068a9d-220d-4500-8c3d-385bff243e58">fresh investment</a> from their sovereign wealth funds.</p> <p>On Wednesday, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/11/20/saudi-arabia-public-investment-fund-linked-abuses">Human Rights Watch (HRW) launched</a> a new report that alleged that the PIF, Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, "facilitated and benefited from human rights abuses".</p> <p>"The crown prince has used the fund's economic power to commit serious human rights violations and investments in foreign sporting events to whitewash the reputational harm," the 95-page report found.</p><div class="block-adsense block-adsense-managed-ad-block"><div> <div class="adsense responsive"> <script async="" src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6114695881218027" crossorigin="anonymous"></script><!-- responsive --><ins class="adsbygoogle mee-auto-ad-wrapper " style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-6114695881218027" data-ad-slot="8690493793" data-ad-format="horizontal" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins> <script> //<![CDATA[ (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); //]]> </script></div> </div> </div> <p>It also says the PIF has "facilitated serious human rights violations" linked to Mohammed bin Salman "through companies it owns and controls, such as the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi".</p> <p><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/world-has-moved-past-jamal-khashoggis-murder-saudi-activists-vow-keep-fighting">Khashoggi</a>, a Middle East Eye and Washington Post columnist, was killed and dismembered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by a hit squad sent from Riyadh. The CIA concluded that the operation was signed off by the crown prince, an accusation he denies.</p> <div class="mee-readmore mee-readmore-article-story mee-readmore-type-image align-right"> <a class="mee-readmore-img-link" href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-public-investment-fund-facilitated-displacement-torture-killing"><img class="mee-readmore-image" src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/read_more/public/images-story/mohammed-bin-salman-brussel-belgium-2024-afp.jpg.webp?itok=gcbDGU6h" width="400" height="250" alt="" loading="lazy" typeof="foaf:Image" /></a> <div class="mee-readmore-description">Saudi Arabia's wealth fund 'facilitated displacement, torture and killing'</div> <a class="mee-readmore-link" href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-public-investment-fund-facilitated-displacement-torture-killing">Read More »</a> </div> <p>According to HRW, Sky Prime Aviation, a company controlled by the PIF, "owned the two planes used in 2018 by Saudi agents to travel to Istanbul, where they murdered Khashoggi".</p> <p>The PIF already has significant investments in Britain, with a 40 percent stake in London's upmarket department store <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/oct/08/saudi-wealth-fund-buys-stake-selfridges-department-store#:~:text=Saudi%20Arabia's%20sovereign%20wealth%20fund,retailer%20for%20an%20undisclosed%20sum.">Selfridges</a> and <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/d4f87d1c-8147-4126-9fc1-e9fc4ff8f3d3">majority ownership</a> of Newcastle United football club.</p> <p>The Foreign Office declined to comment.</p> <p>The UK's <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/ad068a9d-220d-4500-8c3d-385bff243e58">trade relationship</a> with the Gulf Cooperation Council is worth £57bn, and Britain is looking to secure further investment for energy and infrastructure projects.</p> <p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-ministers-visit-gulf-to-boost-trade-and-investment">Douglas Alexander</a>, Britain's trade policy minister, attended Saudi Arabia's investment forum in Riyadh in October.</p> <h3>Mending UK-UAE relations</h3> <p>British officials told the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/ad068a9d-220d-4500-8c3d-385bff243e58">Financial Times</a> that the government aims to reset relations with the UAE, which became strained under the previous Conservative government over criticisms of Emirati <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/sudan-rsf-key-ally-uae-logistical-and-corporate-interests">involvement</a> in the war in Sudan.</p> <p>The Emiratis even cancelled a number of meetings with <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/uk" target="_blank">UK</a> ministers in April, <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/uae-cancels-meetings-britain-row-sudan-civil-war-sxlhxwhtw">reportedly</a> because Britain did not defend the UAE when it was accused at the UN Security Council of aiding the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been accused of <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uae-cancels-meetings-uk-ministers-sudan-war">genocide</a>.</p> <p>Tory politicians also heavily <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-100-mps-sign-against-uae-deal-own-telegraph">criticised</a> a blocked Emirates-backed bid to buy the Telegraph newspaper, which further soured relations. </p> <p>In May, <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-deputy-pm-secret-trip-uae-rising-diplomatic-tensions">Oliver Dowden</a>, then deputy prime minister, undertook a covert diplomatic mission to the UAE to seek to mend ties. </p> <p>Now the Labour government aims to go further. Forging a stronger trade relationship with Gulf states was considered a <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-seeks-new-trade-deals-gulf-countries-pm-meets-qatari-emir-paris">central plank</a> of Foreign Secretary David Lammy's approach even before he entered government in July.</p> <p>Lammy has labelled his foreign policy vision "progressive realism".</p> <p>This, he <a href="https://www.davidlammy.co.uk/the-case-for-progressive-realism/">argued</a> in opposition, meant using realist means "in the service of just goals - for example climate change, defending democracy, and advancing the world’s economic development".</p> </div> <div class="field field-field-topic"><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/topics/uk-politics" hreflang="en">UK Politics</a></div> <div class="field field-field-coauthor-location"> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-field-article-location"> </div> <div class="field field-field-comments"> <div><drupal-render-placeholder callback="Drupal\disqus\Element\Disqus::displayDisqusComments" arguments="0=Starmer%20to%20visit%20Saudi%20Arabia%20and%20UAE%20for%20investment%20amid%20human%20rights%20accusations&1=https%3A//www.middleeasteye.net/news/starmer-saudi-arabia-uae-investment-human-rights&2=node/411411&3=a%3A0%3A%7B%7D" token="0C-r69TBwc38hBZGfQKjBTwSNRII-kL8aA1HWwMZe4I"></drupal-render-placeholder></div> </div> <div class="field field-field-section"><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/all" hreflang="en">News</a></div>

<span class="field field-title">Saudi Arabia's wealth fund 'facilitated displacement, torture and killing'</span> <div class="field field-field-subhead">Report finds that trillion-dollar Public Investment Fund, controlled by the crown prince, is linked to a wide range of abuses</div> <span class="field field-uid"><a title="View user profile." href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/users/rayhan-uddin" lang="" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/users/rayhan-uddin" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" xml:lang="">Rayhan Uddin</a></span> <span class="field field-created"><time datetime="2024-11-20T10:29:17+00:00" title="20 November 2024 10:29 GMT">Wed, 11/20/2024 - 10:29</time></span> <div class="field field-field-main-image"> <picture><source srcset="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/article_page/public/images-story/mohammed-bin-salman-brussel-belgium-2024-afp.jpg.webp?itok=rq9swi-P 1x" type="image/webp" width="1400" height="788"></source><source srcset="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/article_page/public/images-story/mohammed-bin-salman-brussel-belgium-2024-afp.jpg?itok=rq9swi-P 1x" type="image/jpeg" width="1400" height="788"></source><img loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/article_page/public/images-story/mohammed-bin-salman-brussel-belgium-2024-afp.jpg?itok=rq9swi-P 1x" width="1400" height="788" src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/max_2600x2600/public/images-story/mohammed-bin-salman-brussel-belgium-2024-afp.jpg?itok=JQJKLL3o" alt="Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gestures during a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Brussels on 16 October 2024 (AFP/Nicolas Tucat)" typeof="foaf:Image" /></picture></div> <div class="field field-field-cutline">Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gestures during a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Brussels on 16 October 2024 (AFP/Nicolas Tucat)</div> <div class="field field-body clearfix"><p><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/saudi-arabia">Saudi Arabia</a>’s sovereign wealth fund, which is chaired by its crown prince, is being used to facilitate and whitewash a wide range of human rights abuses, according to a new report. </p> <p>The <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2024/11/20/man-who-bought-world/rights-abuses-linked-saudi-arabias-public-investment-fund">report</a>, titled "The Man Who Bought the World: Rights Abuses Linked to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Its Chairman, Mohammad bin Salman", was published on Wednesday by Human Rights Watch.</p> <p>It found that the fund was effectively controlled by one person, Mohammed bin Salman, and was being used to enable mass rights violations including forced displacement, torture and the killing of a high-profile journalist.</p> <p>The 95-page document drew on government statements, court documents, company records and reports, and interviews with journalists, experts and lawyers. </p> <p>The Public Investment Fund (PIF) is thought to be worth around $900bn, making it one of the wealthiest sovereign wealth funds in the world. </p><div class="block-adsense block-adsense-managed-ad-block"><div> <div class="adsense responsive"> <script async="" src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6114695881218027" crossorigin="anonymous"></script><!-- responsive --><ins class="adsbygoogle mee-auto-ad-wrapper " style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-6114695881218027" data-ad-slot="8690493793" data-ad-format="horizontal" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins> <script> //<![CDATA[ (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); //]]> </script></div> </div> </div> <p>Such funds, often built on oil wealth, are used by states to accumulate revenue and diversify portfolios through domestic and global investments.</p> <p>Just months after becoming crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman used the wealth fund to tighten his grip on power, the report noted, during the Ritz-Carlton purge launched in November 2017. </p> <p>In what was dubbed an "anti-corruption drive", 200 powerful Saudi businesspeople, royals and senior officials were initially arrested and taken to the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh. </p> <p>There they were detained, and some were abused, until they handed over proportions of their assets to the wealth fund. </p> <p>Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah, son of the late King Abdullah and once seen as a possible crown prince, was tortured and beaten, <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusive-former-crown-prince-among-saudi-torture-victims-340914670">sources told Middle East Eye</a> at the time. One Saudi general was <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/03/12/saudi-general-may-have-tortured-death-ritz-carlton-crackdown/" target="_blank">reportedly tortured to death</a>.</p> <h3>'Unchecked control'</h3> <p>Saudi officials said around $106bn was seized from 381 individuals during the one-and-a-half-year purge, though the figure is <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/after-saudi-purge-106bn-question-hanging-over-kingdom" target="_blank">disputed</a>.</p> <p>Among those who lost control of their business was tycoon Nasser al-Tayyar, who ran one of the largest travel agencies in Saudi Arabia.</p> <blockquote> <p>'Mohammed bin Salman has unchecked control over the country's nearly trillion-dollar Public Investment Fund'</p> <p><em>- Joey Shea, HRW</em></p> </blockquote> <p>Earlier this month, MEE <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/how-saudi-travel-company-bankrupted-indian-migrant-worker">interviewed</a> a former senior employee at Al Tayyar travel agency, Ahmed Abdul Majeed, who said he was forced to work for free and sell his family’s assets to earn his freedom. </p> <p>Abdul Majeed said his experience was akin to modern-day slavery. He held the PIF and Mohammed bin Salman responsible for his ordeal.</p> <p>The report said that the crown prince overhauled the governance of the PIF to concentrate power and oversight into his own hands, enabling him to direct enormous sums of wealth into megaprojects.</p> <p>“Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has unchecked control over the country’s nearly trillion-dollar Public Investment Fund,” said Joey Shea, Saudi Arabia researcher at Human Rights Watch.</p> <p>“The crown prince has used the Saudi sovereign wealth fund’s economic power to commit serious human rights violations and whitewash the reputational harm from these abuses.”</p> <h3>Complicity in murder and forced displacement </h3> <p>The PIF was linked to the brutal murder of former Middle East Eye journalist <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/users/jamal-khashoggi">Jamal Khashoggi</a> at the hands of Saudi agents in October 2018.</p><div class="block-adsense block-adsense-managed-ad-block"><div> <div class="adsense responsive"> <script async="" src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6114695881218027" crossorigin="anonymous"></script><!-- responsive --><ins class="adsbygoogle mee-auto-ad-wrapper " style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-6114695881218027" data-ad-slot="8690493793" data-ad-format="horizontal" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins> <script> //<![CDATA[ (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); //]]> </script></div> </div> </div> <p>Two private jets used by the Saudi hit squad were <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/khashoggi-murder-court-documents-show-planes-link-saudi-crown-prince">owned by Sky Prime Aviation</a>, which the sovereign wealth fund had taken control of during the purge a year earlier. </p> <p>After Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the killers made their escape using the planes.</p> <p>The report notes that major projects funded by the PIF have involved abuses of some of the most marginalised communities in Saudi Arabia. </p> <div class="mee-readmore mee-readmore-article-story mee-readmore-type-image align-right"> <a class="mee-readmore-img-link" href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/how-saudi-travel-company-bankrupted-indian-migrant-worker"><img class="mee-readmore-image" src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/read_more/public/images-story/ahmed-abdul-majeed.jpg.webp?itok=yNtg_-wB" width="400" height="250" alt="" loading="lazy" typeof="foaf:Image" /></a> <div class="mee-readmore-description">How a Saudi travel company bankrupted an Indian migrant worker</div> <a class="mee-readmore-link" href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/how-saudi-travel-company-bankrupted-indian-migrant-worker">Read More »</a> </div> <p>That includes the <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/topics/neom">Neom project</a>, a new megacity being built in the northwest of the kingdom, which organisers claim will be 33 times the size of New York City.</p> <p>The Saudi government has been accused of forcibly displacing members of the Howeitat tribe, who have lived for centuries in the region of Tabuk, to make way for Neom. </p> <p>At least 47 members of the tribe have been arrested or detained for resisting eviction, including five who have been sentenced to death, according to <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-neom-tribespeople-jailed-resisting-displacement" target="_blank">a report</a> by the UK-based Alqst rights group.</p> <p>In April 2020, tribal activist Abdul Rahim al-Howeiti was <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/tribal-activist-reportedly-killed-protesting-saudi-neom-megacity-project" target="_blank">shot dead</a> shortly after making videos protesting against his eviction to make way for the megacity.</p> <p>In May, MEE <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/neom-saudi-officers-ordered-kill-people-resisted-eviction-qatif" target="_blank">reported</a> that Saudi security officers were ordered to use lethal force to kill people who resisted eviction from areas earmarked for the city, according to a former Saudi intelligence officer. </p> <p>Meanwhile, the Jeddah Central Development Company, which is entirely owned by the wealth fund and is redeveloping the port city, has <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-jeddah-demolition-push-uproots-over-million">carried out demolitions</a> of homes and forcibly evicted hundreds of thousands of working-class people who have received <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-jeddah-evictions-demolitions-devastating-impact">little to no compensation</a>.</p> <h3>Soft power influence</h3> <p>Human Rights Watch also stated that the PIF was being used to invest in projects to be utilised by Saudi Arabia as a soft power tool to wield influence around the world. </p> <p>That includes its purchase of the English football club <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_5l7dF6kak">Newcastle United</a>, which is now majority-owned by the PIF. </p> <p>Whilst most fans of the club have been <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/newcastle-united-saudi-takeover-wild-scenes-first-match">thrilled</a> by the sudden injection of Saudi money, a small section of supporters have <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-newcastle-takeover-fans-oppose-one-year-on">spoken to MEE</a> about their discomfort at their team being associated with human rights abuses. </p> <p>Yasir al-Rumayyan, chairman of Newcastle United and governor of the PIF, reportedly <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/newcastle-chairman-seized-assets-mbss-behalf-during-saudi-purge-report">ordered the seizure</a> and transfer of 20 companies to the sovereign wealth fund during the Ritz-Carlton purge.</p><div class="block-adsense block-adsense-managed-ad-block"><div> <div class="adsense responsive"> <script async="" src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6114695881218027" crossorigin="anonymous"></script><!-- responsive --><ins class="adsbygoogle mee-auto-ad-wrapper " style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-6114695881218027" data-ad-slot="8690493793" data-ad-format="horizontal" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins> <script> //<![CDATA[ (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); //]]> </script></div> </div> </div> <p>The wealth fund is also involved in the controversial <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-pga-liv-golf-sportswashing-hypocrisy">LIV Golf series</a>, as well as Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-unveils-lavish-stadium-plans-2034-world-cup">2034 World Cup</a>. </p> <p>HRW found that such investments spread disinformation about the kingdom’s human rights records, garner uncritical support for its policies, silence critics and undermine those seeking accountability. </p> <p>It called on global businesses to assess their associations with the wealth fund. </p> <p>“Businesses with ties to the Saudi Public Investment Fund have a responsibility to end their engagement with it if serious human rights violations connected with the PIF are unavoidable,” Shea said.</p> <p>MEE reached out to the PIF for comment on the report’s findings, but did not receive a reply at the time of publication.</p> </div> <div class="field field-field-topic"><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/topics/saudi-struggle" hreflang="en">Saudi Human Rights</a></div> <div class="field field-field-coauthor-location"> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-field-article-location"> </div> <div class="field field-field-comments"> <div><drupal-render-placeholder callback="Drupal\disqus\Element\Disqus::displayDisqusComments" arguments="0=Saudi%20Arabia%27s%20wealth%20fund%20%27facilitated%20displacement%2C%20torture%20and%20killing%27&1=https%3A//www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-public-investment-fund-facilitated-displacement-torture-killing&2=node/411361&3=a%3A0%3A%7B%7D" token="31p8d9ao461ngqgekgbVzVzH-8rY35edhyuktlB2EFY"></drupal-render-placeholder></div> </div> <div class="field field-field-section"><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/all" hreflang="en">News</a></div>

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