Riyadh - Mubasher: Saudi Arabian authorities are about to start conducting settlements with princes and businessmen suspected of corruption and who were arrested about a month ago, according to a Bloomberg report.

The settlements will entail payments by these princes and businessmen in return for their freedom.

The Saudi businessmen, currently held at the Ritz-Carlton, are signing agreements and settlements with Saudi authorities to transfer part of their assets and wealth and avoid trials, informed sources told the news agency.

“Some detainees have started to transfer funds from personal accounts to government-controlled accounts,” the sources, whose names were not revealed, added.

It is expected that the Saudi government will collect between $50 billion and $100 billion in total from these settlements.

“Settlements are a standard way to move forward in most countries, recovering lost assets while allowing business leaders to potentially continue building and diversifying the economy,” commented Emad Mostaque, London-based co-chief investment officer of emerging-markets hedge fund Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd.

Earlier in November, Saudi authorities detained a large number of princes and current and former ministers and officials on the back of the government’s anti-corruption crackdown.