Saudi reaches settlement agreements worth a collective SAR 400 bn in ‘corruption crackdown’: Saudi Arabia will be collecting SAR 400 bn (c. USD 107 bn) from settlement agreements it has reached so far with businessmen who were detained on corruption charges, a statement from the country’s Center for International Communication said yesterday. The amount is made up of “various types of assets, including real estate, commercial entities, securities, cash and other assets” and heralds the release of those without sufficient evidence against them and others who admitted to the allegations brought against them. Some 56 out of 381 businessmen detained in Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s move will remain in custody pending investigations into other criminal charges, Saudi’s General Prosecutor, Sheikh Saud Al Mojeb, has decided. Kingdom Holding’s Alwaleed bin Talal had been released earlier this week after agreeing to settle.

In other news from the Kingdom, Saudi Aramco’s CEO Amin Nasser tells the Nikkei Asian Review that the company is looking to expand its Asian footprint with new investments in China and India.