https://www.artforum.com/news/head-of-saudi-arabia-alula-cultural-development-arrested-on-suspicion-of-money-laundering-548760/
Amr al-Madani, chief executive officer of the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), the government agency created in 2017 to conserve and develop AlUla, a 2,000-year-old archaeological and historical site in northwestern Saudi Arabia, was arrested on January 28 on allegations of corruption. News of his arrest was made public by the country’s Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha). Al-Madani is accused of abuse of authority and money laundering.
The allegations against Al-Madani predate his tenure as CEO of the RCU, beginning the year of its founding. According to Nazaha, Al-Madani illegally obtained for the National Talents Company, a concern of which he was part owner, contracts worth $55 million from the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy. Following his entry into the government sector, he officially departed the company but remained an owner and continued to recommend it to responsible departments of the RCU. According to both the Middle East Monitor and Arab News, the National Talents Company eventually raked in some $347,000 from commission-related projects, with Al-Madani receiving a share of the profits via a relative. The disgraced official’s three partners in the National Talents Company have been arrested as well and have admitted to conspiring with Al-Madani in the scheme.
AlUla, a northwestern Saudi desert region along the historic Silk Road and Incense Route and home to the Hegra UNESCO World Heritage Site, is being remade into an arts hub as part of the Saudi government’s Vision 2030 initiative. Conceived by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the initiative is aimed at diversifying the Saudi economy and establishing a more progressive cultural profile for the country. Though efforts to shape AlUla into an arts destination have been slow-moving, the RCU last year scored an agreement with the Centre Pompidou that will see the storied Parisian contemporary art museum open an outpost there.
