How is this good for business? As the Saudi Arabian media celebrated Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s crackdown on corruption, which has seen the arrest of a large number of royal family members, so far without charge. Saudi Arabia scholar James M. Dorsey asks “some of these are businessmen with international status, and if they are caught in this web then it could happen to anyone … How is that going to inspire confidence and attract foreign investment?” Princeton University Professor Bernard Haykel sees merit in MbS’ actions, saying they are “a frontal assault on some members of the royal family and the impunity with which they have operated in the past… It was something that had to be done, [even though it] sends a chill down the spine of foreign investors,” David Kirkpatrick writes for The New York Times.

Ah, double standards: We can’t help but imagine how good old Omm El Donia would be treated in the court of international opinion had prominent business leaders been detained here. We’re reasonably sure there would be calls for an international sanctions regime by this point.

Siemens’ CEO Joe Kaeser is undeterred by the crackdown, telling The National his company is interested in and capable of having a role in the development of the Neom project. “I would not be too surprised if anytime soon, there would be a major announcement about the cooperation between the kingdom and Siemens on how to assist and help the kingdom in achieving the Vision 2030 goals, which Neom is part of … What I think I see is that the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia now are really coming together and lead by purpose in this region, which I believe is a blessing for the whole world. … On the global scale if there’s a shaky Middle East, there’s a shaky world,” he says.

Closer to home: Al Baraka Bank Egypt issued a statement saying it has no direct ties with Saudi sheikh Saleh Kamel except that he owns a personal stake in the bank. The bank says Kamel is not a board member and current “events” in Saudi Arabia have had no direct impact on its operations. Ismailia Misr Poultry also said it has no information on the arrest of Kamel and but business is continuing normally.

Crackdown expands: The great MbS purge expanded on Monday to include the head of Al Tayyar Travel group Nasser bin Aqeel al-Tayyar, according to Reuters. By Bloomberg’s count, this would bring the net worth of Saudi individuals caught up in the arrests, including Alwaleed Bin Talal, to USD 33 bn.