In 2017, Mohammed bin Salman ousted his cousin Mohammed bin Nayef, the former Crown Prince.
Bin Nayef’s property has since been confiscated and he has disappeared.
In recent days, Saudi businessman Nader Turki al-Dosari has sued bin Nayef and a number of other Saudi princes in a US court in Pennsylvania over the non-fulfillment of their obligations on a Caribbean oil project.
Al-Dosari’s lawyer said that it was very expensive for bin Salman and that the imprisonment of his cousin bin Nayef by bin Salman prevented bin Nayef from fulfilling his obligations under the contract, so the court was unable to summon bin Nayef. He ordered Ibn Salman to be summoned to be informed of Ibn Nayef’s fate.
The lawyer added that bin Salman had forced bin Nayef into permanent residence and had imprisoned him.
This proved that bin Salman was trying to oust his rivals, confiscate their property, and accuse them of corruption and infidelity, the same charge on which Al-Saud and Muhammad bin Salman have executed thousands of their opponents. And today Ibn Salman has accused his cousins of it.
Prior to his ouster, bin Nayef enjoyed widespread support from the royal family and Saudi princes close to the United States.
The UK fact-finding committee also announced in December 2020 that bin Nayef had not been able to appeal against his compulsory residence before an independent and impartial judge and could not even contact his lawyer.
