Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman terms anti-corruption purge 'shock therapy'

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman expressed that the anti-corruption drive launched late last year was the 'shock therapy' his kingdom needed in a bid to stamp out widespread corruption.

"You have a body that has cancer everywhere, the cancer of corruption. You need to have chemo, the shock of chemo, or the cancer will eat the body," said the 32-year-old Crown Prince in an interview with Washington Post, published Tuesday night.

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Salman, known by the initials MBS declared that the kingdom couldn’t meet budget targets without halting this looting.

Military Shake-up

Regarding the shuffle in the top military brass, the crown prince noted that the shake-up announced by his father, King Salman, was aimed at installing 'high energy' people who could achieve modernization targets.

"We want to work with believers," the crown prince asserted in his conversation with the US paper.

Let it be known that the 82-year-old King Salman issued a series of royal decrees late Monday reshuffling the defence and civil establishment.

Saudi King Salman replaces top military commanders in sweeping overhaul

The monarch has replaced the commanders of the ground forces and air defences, as well as senior officials at the interior ministry.

As per the details, Chief of Staff Abdul Rahman bin Saleh al-Bunyan has been terminated from services, while Fayyad al-Ruwaili had been appointed as his replacement.

The king ordered Lt. Gen. Muhammad Suhaim, commander of the Air Defense Forces, to retire and promoted Maj. Gen. Muzaid Al-Amr to this key position.

Lt. Gen. Fahd Bin Turki, commander of the Land Forces, has been relieved of the post and was appointed as commander of the Joint Forces. Maj. Gen. Fahd Al-Mutair was promoted to Lt. Gen. and appointed as commander of the Land Forces.

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Maj. Gen. Mutlaq Al-Azaimie was promoted to Lt. Gen. and appointed as deputy chief of staff, while Maj. Gen. Jarallah Al-Olwait promoted to Lt. Gen. and appointed as commander of the Strategic Missiles Force.

Similarly, Maj. Gen. Turki Bin Bandar was promoted to Lt. Gen. and appointed as commander of the Air Forces.