There was a time when petrodollars Saudi Arabia They traveled the world on an evangelizing mission, financing mosques and Quran schools to spread reactionaries. Wahhabi doctrine This created a lot of havoc. But those were other times. In recent years, that money has gone to insurance companies. electric vehiclesaugmented reality glasses, video game anyone infrastructure. From Uber And Lucid Engines with black stone anyone Alibaba’s. The mastermind of this strategy is none other than the crown prince and de facto ruler of the country. Mohammed Bin Salman. And the tool he uses to do this is Saudi sovereign fundThe same one used by Telefónica, which may soon become Telefónica’s largest shareholder. HE ‘Steve Jobs Bedouin’ – as one Japanese investor called him – to commit some of his most notorious crimes.
Call Public Investment Fund anyone PIFIn its English abbreviation, it is the cornerstone of the strategy undertaken by Muhammad. Diversifying the Saudi economyBy now he was so addicted oil revenue. A strategy aimed at turning the desert kingdom into a desert kingdom leading global investor and also a foreign investment center through the development of new economic sectors such as tourismHE sport waves renewable. called Vision 2030The plan has been in effect since 2016 and is based on a study by an American consulting firm. McKinsey.
A year before Vision 2030 was introduced, the country’s dictator is the son of an octogenarian king salmanit was already done control of sovereign fundOther power sources will follow ArmyHE espionage or state oil company AramcoThe world’s most profitable company is also partly controlled by PIF. “Bin Salman great effect A report by the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) says: “About the day-to-day management of the PIF through its board of directors. For this reason, some observers have called the fund ‘ single person investment vehicle‘”. The crown prince not only presides over it, but also Final word on decisions As he noted in an interview last year, the council Yasir el RumayánInvestment banker who manages PIF’s day-to-day operations.
The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund
His intention is so great NeomThe city he built in the middle of the desert that will “change the way of life on this planet” with “flying taxis” and “working robots”. The state fund currently has assets worth $770 billionbut his plan is to make it the largest in the world. 2 trillion dollars More than Spain’s GDP before 2030. In the eyes of critics it is also a bottomless pit buy political will And whiten international reputation from him absolute monarchyjust like it starts with the organization of sporting events.
Inside Europe PIF investments remain modest. United States of Americabut this is only the beginning, as the purchase of 9.9% of the capital shows. Telephonemade official a month ago Saudi Telecomis one of the PIF companies that controls 64% of its shares. The operation awaits approval from the Government, which could veto it due to Telefónica’s strategic ties to national defense and cybersecurity.
The dilemma facing the executive is inevitable. Because “Saudi Arabia is passing through here” since Bin Salman came to power in Riyadh. One of the worst times for human rights In the words of Human Rights Watch (HRW), of modern history”. The brutal dismemberment of critical journalist Jamal Khashoggi The attack on the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul is just one of the most well-known atrocities. “This was not an isolated incident, it was the result of a growing incident.” Campaign against critics of the crown prince and former members of the elite, including members of the royal family,” writes Freedom House. “A campaign that allowed him to consolidate his power through repeated use ofspyware, Imposing punishment through third parties, arrests, attacks And cross-border kidnapping in nine countries.
Links to human rights violations
This campaign directly impacts the Saudi sovereign fund PIF, which purchased Telephone. “HE PIF facilitated abuses HRW researcher tells EL PERIÓDICO: Joey SheaHe is the one who testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee last month about a merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf (one of PIF’s companies) a possible violation of anti-competition laws. “This means that companies included in the PIF are potentially to be complicit in abuseadds Shea.
One of the links directly points to brutality Khashoggi murder An operation five years ago that, according to the CIA, was approved by Mohammed Bin Salmán himself. According to the statement of the UN special rapporteur investigating the crime, the Saudi agent group that dismembered the journalist came to Istanbul with two company planes. Sky Prime AviationA jet company based in Riyadh Absorbed by PIF months ago. This is stated in the documents of a civil lawsuit filed in Canada by several Saudi state companies against a former officer of the intelligence services.
Forced nationalization of Sky Prime, the famous Ritz-Carlton liquidation During 2017, when Bin Salman locked nearly 400 high-ranking officials, influential figures and royals in his luxury Riyadh hotel for weeks. “anti-corruption operation”“, as this campaign is officially described extrajudicial arrestsOne of Mohammed’s advisors instructed Al Rumayán, the ‘controller’ of the PIF: Transfer of 20 companies According to judicial documents published by CNN, the number of those detained is in the portfolio of the state fund.
Whatever the decision regarding Telefónica, Saudi Arabia They cannot sentence Spanish citizens to death for expressing their opinions Critical comments on Twittersame year Muhammad al-Ghamdi, A retired Saudi professor. But the question remains whether he will use the Spanish operator to persecute critical voices or to advance his own views. foreign policy interests. “With $700,000 in his pocket, the Crown Prince can basically do whatever he wants,” says HRW’s Shea.