THE REAL MOTIVE FOR SAUDI PURGE?

They said it was about 'corruption'.

Trump applauded the move.

But the real reason for the Sauid purge could be confiscation of private wealth for national gain.

Then an article overnight from the WSJ confirmed that fundamentally, the purge may be nothing more than a forced extortion scheme, as the Saudi government - already suffering from soaring budget deficits, sliding oil revenues and plunging reserves - was "aiming to confiscate cash and other assets worth as much as $800 billion in its broadening crackdown on alleged corruption among the kingdom’s elite."

As we reported yesterday, the WSJ writes that the country’s central bank, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, said late Tuesday that it has frozen the bank accounts of “persons of interest” and said the move is “in response to the Attorney General’s request pending the legal cases against them.” But what is more notable, is that while we first suggested - jokingly - on Monday that the ulterior Saudi motive would be to simply "nationalize" the net worth of some of Saudi Arabia's wealthiest individuals, now the WSJ confirms that this is precisely the case, and what's more notably is that the amount in question is absolutely staggering: nearly 2x Saudi Arabia's total foreign reserves!

As the WSJ alleges, "the crackdown could also help replenish state coffers. The government has said that assets accumulated through corruption will become state property, and people familiar with the matter say the government estimates the value of assets it can reclaim at up to 3 trillion Saudi riyal, or $800 billion."

[source : Real Motive Behind Saudi Purge Emerges: $800 Billion In Confiscated Assets, Zero Hedge, http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-11-08/real-motive-behind-saudi-purge-emerges-800-billion-confiscated-assets, 10th November 2017]