Amr al-Madani, head of Saudi Arabia’s AlUla project, was arrested on January 28 on corruption charges.
The chief executive of a major development project in the country’s northwestern province has been accused of “abuse of power and money laundering,” an official from the Saudi Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazara) told local media.
The charges relate to events that predate Al-Ula’s appointment in 2017. He is suspected of profiting from a contract with the Public Scientific Research Fund awarded to a company co-owned by King Abdullah for nuclear and renewable energy. The contract value was $55 million. Three of his partners were also arrested, confessed and are currently awaiting trial, anti-corruption officials said.
Amr al-Madani’s arrest is the latest in a saga surrounding al-Ula’s vast cultural development, one of the most ambitious projects launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as part of his Vision 2030 programme. It is a development.
In 2018, Crown Prince Mohammed and French President Emmanuel Macron signed a 10-year framework agreement, providing France with exclusive partnership agreements on multi-billion dollar infrastructure projects.
However, it has recently emerged that French diplomatic sources are unhappy with the project’s slow progress. On the other hand, Amr Almadani expressed mixed feelings about the relationship with French cultural organizations, stressing that: art newspaperthe promises he made with British and American companies.
Plans for a Saudi-funded French heritage fund are still under discussion. Jean-François Charnier, Scientific Director of the French AlUla Development Agency, established in Paris in July 2018 as a result of an intergovernmental agreement signed by France and Saudi Arabia, is the Scientific Director of the AlUla Development Agency and is responsible for the AlUla Development Agency investigation. After getting involved, he resigned. Sold allegedly looted Egyptian antiquities to Louvre Abu Dhabi. Charnier has denied the allegations, but was replaced last year by Sophie Macariou, who opened the Louvre’s Islamic department in 2003.
In July, former Minister of Defense and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian was appointed as head of France’s AlUla Development Agency, replacing Gerard Mestralet. He recently appointed close associate Jean-Claude Marais as special advisor.
French authorities declined to comment on Amr Almadani’s arrest, but a spokesperson said the project had “accelerated” in recent months. For example, the publicist is responsible for new archaeological excavations, exhibitions around the world, film programs and exchanges, the appointment of French architects Lacaton & Vassal to the Villa Hegra Cultural Center, and the signing of an agreement with the Center Pompidou. etc. are listed. A contemporary art museum is located on the premises.