The head of a Saudi royal commission has been arrested on corruption charges

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The CEO overseeing Saudi Arabia’s royal commission for its historic al-Ula site has been arrested on corruption and money-laundering charges over some $55 million in contracts. The charges target Amr bin Saleh Abdulrahman al-Madani in part over “illegally obtaining” contracts to benefit a private company he had interests in through a relative before joining the government. A statement from the Saudi anti-corruption authority says al-Madani also allegedly recommended that private company for additional contracts through his work on the commission for al-Ula, an ancient desert city. In 2017, Saudi Arabia conducted a wide-ranging sweep of arrests over corruption charges.