On October 3, the electronic Rai al-Youm daily newspaper carried the following report: “The Saudi Monarch, King Salman Ben Abdul Aziz, decided to revoke all the privileges enjoyed by the princes including the extra financial support. He decided to only maintain the salaries that the princes get. He might also reconsider the salaries of the rich princes who have amassed hundreds of millions of dollars.

“In the context of the austerity plan that the Saudi authorities have adopted to deal with the cost of the war in Yemen, the cost of supporting the radical movements in Syria, and the regressing oil prices, the Saudi authorities decided to reduce the salaries of the ministers and high-ranking civil servants in addition to freezing the investment projects and starting to deport the foreign workers.

“These measures also touch on the princes. Rai al-Youm learned from well-informed sources about the situation in Saudi Arabia, that King Salman decided to revoke all the princes’ privileges including the indemnity payments and extra support they are paid, and to merely limit this support to their salaries. The sources believe it is likely that King Salman might take the decision to freeze the salaries of prominent princes who possess huge investment projects and bank accounts loaded with hundreds of millions of dollars and even exceeding a billion dollars for some.

“He [i.e. King Salman] also insisted that the princes should avoid being involved in financial and political scandals especially in the western countries with the USA being on top of these because Al-Riyadh is not willing to defend these princes while it is going through a difficult political situation both internally and at the level of its foreign relations. The Saudi princes get periodically involved in financial and sexual scandals in the West.

“Saudi Arabia is suffering from a critical situation; and it fears a social uprising from within. Its international relations with neighboring countries like Egypt have declined while its relations with the USA are going through a dangerous deterioration because of the JASTA law. Thus, Saudi Arabia fears that it will have to pay hundreds of billions of dollars as fines for the implication of Saudi nationals in the September 11 attacks.”