mohammed al amoudi yacht

A Saudi Billionaire Vanished For 400 Days And His Global Empire Boomed

The good news for al amoudi, one of the world's richest men, is that during his prolonged absence, much of his global business empire has thrived.

Mohammed Al Amoudi has accumulated $7.6 billion of assets outside the Kingdom

• Saudi billionaire Mohammed Al Amoudi is in custody in the country
• Al Amoudi is awaiting trial on corruption and bribery charges
• During his long detention, rumors spread that he had died

Some 400 days after Mohammed Al Amoudi went missing, word came Thursday of his whereabouts: In custody in Saudi Arabia and awaiting trial on corruption and bribery charges.

The good news for Al Amoudi, one of the world's richest men, is that during his prolonged absence, much of his global business empire has thrived. Sales at his Sweden-based oil refiner Preem AB have surged more than 30 percent and his Stockholm office properties have risen in value.

Since being seized by security forces in Riyadh last year as part of a sweeping crackdown by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, his net worth has climbed by about 6 percent to $8.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a ranking of the world's 500 richest people.

The situation highlights the contradictions of being a wealthy Saudi under the de facto reign of the crown prince, whose embargo of Qatar, war in Yemen and alleged role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi have shocked the world but prompted little apparent change in his agenda.

During Al Amoudi's long detention, rumors spread among Saudi Arabia's business elite that he had died.

A Saudi official who asked not to be identified confirmed Thursday that the billionaire is alive and in custody, though no trial date has been set. Al Amoudi has been in touch with relatives and is reported to be in good health, according to his spokesman, Tim Pendry. He disputed that Al Amoudi has been officially charged with any wrongdoing and declined further comment.

Al Amoudi, whose fortune can be traced to a Saudi government contract during the reign of King Fahd, has accumulated $7.6 billion of assets outside the Kingdom and owns businesses employing thousands of people in Europe and Africa. But as the past year's events prove, his earliest benefactor -- the Saudi royal family -- still holds sway.

The Ethiopian-born businessman is one of several high-profile individuals still detained in the corruption crackdown. Most of the other billionaires and princes have been released after agreeing to hand over more than $100 billion in cash and assets. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who chalked up his detention to "a misunderstanding," is once again making deals and borrowing huge sums. Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, the former head of the National Guard who forked over $1 billion in bail, was seen meeting with King Salman.

The veneer of normalcy betrays an anxiety quietly gripping wealthy Saudis who are increasingly looking to move money abroad or even leave.

"Liquid assets were shifted out quite quickly after the purge," said Marcus Chenevix, an analyst at investment research firm TS Lombard in London. The crackdown targeted wealthy members of the business elite from Jeddah in particular, a group -- Al Amoudi included -- who prospered in part through ties to King Abdullah and King Fahd. King Salman was a former governor of Riyadh and things were "tense from the moment he came in," Chenevix said.

In Sweden, where Al Amoudi's Preem is the country's biggest fuel company, business is proceeding as normal, with a few adjustments. Last month, Preem announced it had replaced Al Amoudi as chairman with a former global head of corporate finance at Morgan Stanley, Jason Milazzo. The company's statement acknowledged it had "no further confirmed information" regarding its missing sole shareholder.

Both Fitch and S&P Global, which rate Preem's debt, have given rosy assessments of its credit health. Yes, the sole shareholder of the $5 billion company has been missing for months, but the operations haven't been affected, the analysts wrote. Al Amoudi "was not really involved in the day-to-day management of the business," Fitch analyst Vladislav Nikolov said.

Al Amoudi's brother Hassan has been granted power of attorney, according to a June 30 presentation from Preem's parent company, Corral Petroleum. The brother, who owns a furniture factory in Jeddah, isn't otherwise involved in the business, spokesman Pendry said.

Preem, whose bright green and yellow signs adorn hundreds of gas stations throughout Sweden, is responsible for almost a third of the Nordic region's refining capacity. Al Amoudi's 100 percent stake is worth $5.1 billion. He also owns an $835 million oil explorer, a home builder, commercial real estate and various industrial businesses, making him one of Sweden's largest private investors.

While Al Amoudi delegated day-to-day management to other executives, his deep pockets were helpful in the harshly cyclical energy industry. A 2016 bond prospectus by Corral Petroleum highlighted Al Amoudi's ranking on global wealth lists and "continued commitment" to the company in the form of hundreds of millions of dollars of shareholder loans and contributions.

None of the billionaire's business associates has publicly sought answers from Saudi Arabia on Al Amoudi's predicament. The only outspoken advocate for Al Amoudi's release has come from Ethiopia, where the billionaire is the largest single private investor. His assets there, which include land holdings, gold mines, coffee plantations, a fuel company and hotels, are conservatively valued at $1.2 billion.

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Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told state media in May he was confident Al Amoudi's release was imminent after he made a personal appeal to the crown prince. In August, Ahmed told reporters he'd gotten word from Saudi officials that the industrialist's release was being postponed for "some proceedings" and vowed to keep up the pressure.

"Sheikh Al Amoudi's detention is a national issue," Ahmed said.

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He Owns Much of Ethiopia. The Saudis Won’t Say Where They’re Hiding Him.

By Danny Hakim and Ben Hubbard

• March 16, 2018

He supplies coffee to Starbucks . He owns much of Ethiopia. And he is known as “Sheikh Mo” in the Clintons’ circle.

But the gilded life of Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi took a sharp turn in November. Sheikh Amoudi, the gregarious 71-year-old son of a Yemeni businessman and his Ethiopian wife, was swept up with hundreds of billionaires, princes and other well-connected figures in what the Saudi government says is an anti-corruption campaign that has seized more than $100 billion in assets.

Many other detainees, who were initially kept at a Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh, have been released, including Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the well-known international investor. Sheikh Amoudi’s cousin Mohammed Aboud Al Amoudi, a property developer, was also let go .

But Sheikh Amoudi, once called the world’s richest black person by Forbes , has not been freed, leaving a vast empire that employs more than 70,000 people in limbo. He controls businesses from Ethiopia, where he is the largest private employer and the most prominent backer of the authoritarian government, to Sweden, where he owns a large fuel company, to London, which he has used as a base to set up a number of companies.

“He was in the Ritz-Carlton, but we have been told by his family members that he was moved, along with others, to another hotel,” Sheikh Amoudi’s press office said in an email responding to questions. “Unfortunately we do not know where. He is in regular contact with his family and is being treated well.”

While Sheikh Amoudi lacks a princely pedigree, he is in other ways an archetype of those entangled in the kingdom’s power play: a billionaire with assets stretching across the world who had close ties to previous governments.

The late King Abdullah was a supporter of Sheikh Amoudi’s Saudi Star Agricultural Development, a sprawling farming venture in Ethiopia established to supply rice to Saudi Arabia . Such ventures are seen as strategic assets in a desert kingdom keenly aware of its agricultural limitations. While Saudi Star has had a tough time getting going, it is said to be a particular focus of the new government’s interest.

Saudi officials have declined to comment on the charges against individual detainees as well as their status, citing privacy laws.

The Saudi government has said its dragnet followed an extensive investigation by a newly formed anti-corruption committee headed by the country’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. The prince, who has fashioned himself as a reformer , is in the midst of a charm offensive to bolster diplomatic and financial ties to the West and is scheduled to visit Washington this month.

The detentions, however, have been almost entirely opaque. There have been no signs of collaboration with Western law enforcement and no charges made public, leading some critics to view it as a power and money grab rather than a bona fide anti-corruption effort. Saudi officials have denied that anyone has been mistreated, but people with knowledge of the detentions have said that as many as 17 of the detainees required medical attention because of abuse, and one later died in custody.

Given the insular nature of the country and the crackdown, Saudi officials are likely to make the most headway seizing assets within their own borders. Within Sheikh Amoudi’s empire, there is much to sort through.

He moved to the kingdom as a teenager. Although there are few firm details about how a commoner came to vast wealth, he managed to forge influential connections. The most important was Prince Sultan bin Abdel Aziz, who served as defense minister and crown prince before his death in 2011. Sheikh Amoudi ran businesses that depended on the prince’s money and position, associates said. Another of his allies was Khalid bin Mahfouz , a billionaire who later became enmeshed in the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International in 1991, at the time one of the largest private banks in the world.

In the 1980s, Sheikh Amoudi set up Mohammed International Development Research and Organization Companies, a conglomerate known as Midroc. Early on, his biggest deal was a multibillion-dollar project to build the kingdom’s underground oil storage capacity. Engineering and construction became core businesses for Midroc, but it operates everything from pharmaceutical to furniture factories in the region, according to its website. Sheikh Amoudi also owns half of a steel company called Yanbu, and a large chain of gas stations called Naft.

Like another detainee, Sheikh Alwaleed, Sheikh Amoudi extended his reach to the United States. He donated millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation and offered his private plane to fly Bill Clinton to Ethiopia in 2011. That offer sparked debate within the foundation, leaked emails showed.

“Unless Sheikh Mo has sent us a $6 million check, this sounds crazy to do,” Amitabh Desai, the foreign policy director of the Clinton Foundation, wrote in one of the emails.

That was not the first time that Sheikh Amoudi’s name had surfaced in the United States. Three years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, a lawsuit by the owner of the World Trade Center described Sheikh Amoudi as a “material sponsor of international terrorism” because of his funding of controversial Islamic charities. Both sides agreed to a dismissal the next year, and a spokesman for Sheikh Amoudi attributed the suit to a case of mistaken identity.

In Ethiopia, Sheikh Amoudi’s allies portray him as a philanthropist and a champion of African growth.

“I am a Saudi investor, born in Africa, with an Ethiopian mother, of which I am proud,” he said in a speech in Washington in 2014 . “I have a special relationship with my birth country by investing in all of Africa — north, south, east, west.”

Sisay Asefa, a professor at Western Michigan University, has known Sheikh Amoudi for years and set up a foundation with his support.

“He should be released immediately,” he said. Sheikh Amoudi, he added, “has transformed many lives.”

But he has also been a polarizing figure. Sheikh Amoudi’s reach in Ethiopia has been so pervasive that a 2008 State Department cable, made public by WikiLeaks , said that “nearly every enterprise of significant monetary or strategic value privatized since 1994 has passed from the ownership of the Government of Ethiopia” to “one of Al Amoudi’s companies.” That called into question the “true competitiveness of the process,” the cable said.

Sheikh Amoudi has opened his deep pockets to build a hospital in Addis Ababa and fund AIDS treatment programs. But he has also long backed the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, which has governed the country for more than a quarter-century, angering opposition supporters.

His loyalty to the party has even crossed borders. When a popular expatriate group in the United States called the Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America invited an opposition leader to speak in 2010, Sheikh Amoudi set up a rival group.

“When he was imprisoned, it divided public opinion,” said Semahagn Gashu Abebe, an assistant professor of international studies at Endicott College. “The opposition is happy because they think it will greatly weaken the regime.”

But for Ethiopia’s governing party, he said, “it’s a loss.”

Many see Sheikh Amoudi less as a beneficent local son than a Saudi privateer. Some of his mining operations, particularly in a region of Ethiopia called Oromia, have caused resentment, protests and arrests .

“The government and people around the government would definitely miss him,” said Henok Gabisa, a visiting academic fellow at Washington and Lee University School of Law. “I’m sure people from the Oromia region would never miss him, because they feel like they were robbed of their natural resources.”

As Mr. Gabisa put it, “Literally his presence and his absence make a huge difference in Ethiopia.”

David D. Kirkpatrick, Kate Kelly and Selam Gebrekidan contributed reporting.

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Saudi billionaire Mohammed al-Amoudi released from detention

The tycoon, who had a net worth estimated to be $10.9bn, was detained as part of ‘anti-corruption purge’ in 2017.

Saudi Arabia has freed Saudi-Ethiopian billionaire Mohammed al-Amoudi, more than a year after the tycoon was detained under the kingdom’s controversial anti-corruption campaign.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed confirmed Amoudi’s release on Twitter on Sunday, saying he had raised the issue with  Crown Prince  Mohammed bin Salman  ( MBS )  during a trip to Riyadh last May.

A family office spokesman told Reuters that Amoudi had returned to his home in the western city of Jeddah.

Amoudi was detained at Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton hotel in November 2017 along with dozens of princes, officials and businessmen after MBS launched his so-called “anti-corruption purge”.

Allegations against those detained included money laundering, bribery, and extorting officials.

The crackdown was in response to “exploitation by some of the weak souls who have put their own interests above the public interest, in order to illicitly accrue money,” a royal decree at the time said.

Most were freed after reaching settlement deals with the government, including Saudi businessman and billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.

Downgraded by  Forbes

Amoudi’s release follows that of several other businessmen last week and comes after the kingdom suffered a global backlash over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the reported torture of women activists.

Amoudi, who was born in Ethiopia to a Yemeni father and an Ethiopian mother, owns a broad portfolio of businesses in construction, energy, agriculture, mining, hotels, healthcare and manufacturing.

According to a Forbes report last year, his net worth was estimated to be $10.9bn. Forbes downgraded his net worth earlier this month to $1.2bn “due to a lack of clarity about which assets he still owns”.

It is unclear how much, if any, of Amoudi’s wealth he may have handed over to the state in exchange for his release.

The Saudi authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Saudi Arabia’s Attorney General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb said last January that the kingdom had seized more than $100bn in anti-corruption settlements.

Experts have noted that the arrests were a way for MBS to consolidate economic, as well as political, power in Saudi Arabia .

• The Inventory

How the Saudi purge will affect detained billionaires’ assets in Africa

The jitters surrounding the Saudi purge continue to reverberate both in Africa and across the world with companies and family holdings wondering how the shakedown would impact their businesses, assets, and long-term investments.

In early November, more than 200 people including princes, prominent businessmen, and former government officials were arrested in what officials said was a wide-ranging anti-corruption probe. More than 1,500 bank accounts of suspects were also frozen  (paywall) according to the Financial Times, as the government sought to tackle “systematic corruption” and reclaim embezzled funds.

The unprecedented move is also seen as crown prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to tighten his grip on power, even as he marshals the kingdom to stem its dependence on oil and encourage foreign investment .

At least two billionaire businessmen detained in the corruption investigation have extensive investments across Africa. One of them is prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, chairman of the Kingdom Holdings, which has sizable stakes in Twitter, Citigroup, and ride-sharing firm Lyft. The other is Mohammad al-Amoudi, son of a Saudi father and an Ethiopian mother, and one of the richest black people in the world. Together, Talal and al-Amoudi own investments across Africa in hospitality, agriculture, cement production, gold mining, real estate, and oil production.

The two businessmen’s venture into Africa preceded the wealthy Gulf nations’ recent interest in financing projects in African markets. Buoyed by fast economic growth, improving governance, and growing demographic and consumer trends, more Gulf money has been flowing into the continent in the last decade—not only to North Africa but also in sub-Saharan Africa.

Between 2005 and 2014, Gulf firms provided  (pdf) at least $9.3 billion in foreign direct investments in sub-Saharan Africa alone, according to a 2015 Economist Intelligence Unit report. The East Africa region was the main draw for Gulf investors, lured by the rise of Islamic banking , halal tourism, retail in Kenya,  manufacturing in Ethiopia,  and the education sector in Uganda.

For al-Amoudi, Ethiopia became a source of food and arable land, as escalating food consumption and water scarcity presented a challenge for Saudi policymakers. Through his Saudi Star Agricultural Development, al-Amoudi invested in growing wheat, rice, and barley in 0.5 million hectares of land in the Gambella province in Ethiopia. The project has not been without its controversy with the US-based think tank Oakland Institute saying that communities were forcibly relocated , forests cleared, and farmland lost.

But his close relationship with the ruling party, which goes back to the 1990’s, safeguards his business interests says Henok Gabisa, a visiting academic fellow at Washington and Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Virginia. Besides agriculture, the Saudi-Ethiopian businessman is Ethiopia’s single biggest foreign investor and owns Midroc Gold, the country’s largest miner that brings in much-needed foreign currency. A WikiLeaks diplomatic cable from 2008 noted how “nearly every enterprise of significant monetary or strategic value privatized since 1994 has passed from the ownership of the government of Ethiopia to one of al-Amoudi’s companies.”

“Ethiopian ruling elites had no trouble doing business with al-Amoudi even when the investment process from its soup to nuts was infected with corruption and bribery,” Gabisa said. “It looked like they need al-Amoudi more than they hate the corruption.”

But the 71-year old al-Amoudi’s arrest could be cheered on in Egypt says Adel Abdel Ghafar, a fellow at the Brookings Doha Center. This is because of his $88 million pledge to finance the Renaissance Dam, which upon completion will be the largest dam in Africa. And even though the dam will increase the hydroelectric power in Ethiopia, it will significantly reduce Egypt’s share of the Nile water—a matter that is already controversial .

Yet Egypt also finds itself tangled into the Saudi purge given Alwaleed bin Talal’s investments in the north African nation. Talal owns about 40 hotels and resorts in Egypt, in addition to 18 others that are still under construction, according to Reuters. In August, he also promised to inject $800 million to expand the Four Seasons resort in Sharm el-Sheikh, in partnership with Talaat Moustafa Holding Group (TMG). After his arrest, TMG denied that Talal, who also owns a chain of hotels in Kenya , was a company shareholder or had invested in any of its subsidiaries.

But even as family groups and businessmen look for ways to protect their assets abroad from the kingdom’s reach, Abdel Ghafar says Egyptian authorities will likely take the lead of the Saudi government. “If there are confiscations to be had, the Egyptian government is likely to follow through.”

Assertive reach

Besides the economic and financial investments, observers say we should also watch out for how the political assertiveness in Riyadh will manifest itself in African capitals. Along with the United Arab Emirates, the two nations have already been building ports and military bases along the Horn of Africa in order to expand their influence and tighten the noose on Houthi rebels in Yemen. This is happening as the Turks , Chinese , and the Americans all step up their engagement in the region.

“What you do see and what you will continue to see in the next couple of years is continuous interference as it pertains by what they [Saudis] perceive to be their long-term strategic interests,” says Harry Verhoeven, who teaches at the school of foreign service at Georgetown University in Qatar.

But as the kingdom’s multi-billion-dollar wealth fund looks to boost returns , Gabisa says that Saudis could use the opportunity for investment as a leverage against African nations. Countries like Kenya are in negotiations to export skilled and semi-skilled workers like nurses and technicians to the kingdom. In the long run, Gabisa said, this allows Saudis “to possess a juggernaut of political and economic leverage and influence over African nations.”

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A billionaire vanished for 400 days and his empire boomed

Billionaire mohammed al amoudi, is ‘still alive’ and will stand trial at some point for corruption and bribery, according to a saudi official, who asked not to be identified..

More than a year ago, he vanished into the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh, along with dozens of Saudi princes and businessmen.

Before long, rumors swirled: Was the billionaire Mohammed Al Amoudi even alive?

Now, at last, comes the answer. Al Amoudi, is ‘still alive’ and will stand trial at some point for corruption and bribery, according to a Saudi official, who asked not to be identified.

What’s remarkable about his situation is that despite his prolonged detainment, a result of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s crackdown on graft in the Kingdom, the bulk of Al Amoudi’s global business empire has boomed.

Sales at his Sweden-based oil refiner Preem AB have surged more than 30 percent and his Stockholm office properties have risen in value. Since being seized by security forces in Riyadh last year, his net worth has climbed by about 6 percent to $8.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a ranking of the world’s 500 richest people.

The situation highlights the contradictions and absurdities of being a wealthy Saudi under the de facto reign of the crown prince, whose embargo of Qatar, war in Yemen and alleged role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi have shocked the world but prompted little apparent change in his agenda.

A Saudi official who asked not to be identified confirmed Thursday that the billionaire is in custody, though no trial date has been set. Al Amoudi has been in touch with relatives and is reported to be in good health, according to his spokesman, Tim Pendry. He disputed that Al Amoudi has been officially charged with any wrongdoing and declined further comment.

Al Amoudi, whose fortune can be traced to a Saudi government contract during the reign of King Fahd, has accumulated $7.6 billion of assets outside the Kingdom and owns businesses employing thousands of people in Europe and Africa. But as the past year’s events prove, his earliest benefactor -- the Saudi royal family -- still holds sway.

Saudi Crackdown

The Ethiopian-born businessman is one of several high-profile individuals still detained in the corruption crackdown. Among those believed to still be held include Prince Turki bin Abdullah, son of the late King Abdullah.

Most of the other businessmen and princes have been released after agreeing to hand over more than $100 billion in cash and assets. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who chalked up his detention to “a misunderstanding,” is once again making deals and borrowing huge sums. Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, the former head of the National Guard who forked over $1 billion in bail, was seen meeting with King Salman.

The veneer of normalcy betrays an anxiety quietly gripping wealthy Saudis who are increasingly looking to move money abroad or even leave.

“Liquid assets were shifted out quite quickly after the purge,” said Marcus Chenevix, an analyst at investment research firm TS Lombard in London. The crackdown targeted wealthy members of the business elite from Jeddah in particular, a group -- Al Amoudi included -- who prospered in part through ties to King Abdullah and King Fahd. King Salman was a former governor of Riyadh and things were “tense from the moment he came in,” Chenevix said.

Rosy Assessments

In Sweden, where Al Amoudi’s Preem is the country’s biggest fuel company, business is proceeding as normal, with a few adjustments. Last month, Preem announced it had replaced Al Amoudi as chairman with a former global head of corporate finance at Morgan Stanley, Jason Milazzo. The company’s statement acknowledged it had “no further confirmed information” regarding its missing sole shareholder.

Both Fitch and S&P Global, which rate Preem’s debt, have given rosy assessments of its credit health. Yes, the sole shareholder of the $5 billion company has been missing for months, but the operations haven’t been affected, the analysts wrote. Al Amoudi “was not really involved in the day-to-day management of the business,” Fitch analyst Vladislav Nikolov said.

Al Amoudi’s brother Hassan has been granted power of attorney, according to a June 30 presentation from Preem’s parent company, Corral Petroleum. The brother, who owns a furniture factory in Jeddah, isn’t otherwise involved in the business, spokesman Pendry said.

Preem Stake

Preem, whose bright signs adorn hundreds of gas stations throughout Sweden, is responsible for almost a third of the Nordic region’s refining capacity. Al Amoudi’s 100 percent stake is worth $5.1 billion. He also owns an $835 million oil explorer, a home builder, commercial real estate and various industrial businesses, making him one of Sweden’s largest private investors.

While Al Amoudi delegated day-to-day management to other executives, his deep pockets were helpful in the harshly cyclical energy industry. A 2016 bond prospectus by Corral Petroleum highlighted Al Amoudi’s ranking on global wealth lists and “continued commitment” to the company in the form of hundreds of millions of dollars of shareholder loans and contributions.

‘National Issue’

None of the billionaire’s business associates has publicly sought answers from Saudi Arabia on Al Amoudi’s predicament. The only outspoken advocate for Al Amoudi’s release has come from Ethiopia, where the billionaire is the largest single private investor. His assets there, which include land holdings, gold mines, coffee plantations, a fuel company and hotels, are conservatively valued at $1.2 billion.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told state media in May he was confident Al Amoudi’s release was imminent after he made a personal appeal to the crown prince. In August, Ahmed told reporters he’d gotten word from Saudi officials that the industrialist’s release was being postponed for “some proceedings” and vowed to keep up the pressure.

“Sheikh Al Amoudi’s detention is a national issue,” Ahmed said.

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Ethiopian billionaire Mohammed Al Amoudi's Samir Oil loses international court case

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Table of Contents

Key points:.

• The ICSID awarded Corral only $150 million, a mere 6 percent of the $2.7 billion sought in the SAMIR refinery case.
• SAMIR Oil Refinery collapsed in 2015 due to financial mismanagement, resulting in a debt of around MAD 40 billion ($4 billion).
• Morocco plans to seek annulment of the ruling while considering new projects to revitalize the SAMIR site in Mohammedia

Ethiopia’s richest man, Mohammed Al-Amoudi, has faced a significant setback in Morocco. On Monday, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) dismissed the majority of claims brought by Corral Morocco Holding against the Moroccan state regarding the SAMIR refinery.

The ICSID awarded Corral a mere $150 million in compensation, a fraction – five percent – of the $2.7 billion the company sought, according to a statement from the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Financial Collapse and Mismanagement

Saudi Businessman Mohammed Al Amoudi had claimed $2.7 billion in compensation following the liquidation of SAMIR, Morocco’s sole oil refinery . The company collapsed financially in 2015 under a crushing debt due to mismanagement.

In the statement, Nadia Fettah confirmed the decision and indicated that Morocco is considering all legal avenues, including seeking annulment of the ruling.

Throughout the ICSID proceedings, Morocco defended its actions regarding the SAMIR refinery. Minister Fettah emphasised that since 2002, Morocco has taken extensive measures to support and develop the refinery’s operations. 

Despite these efforts, Corral Morocco Holdings, the primary shareholder, was unable to stabilise the refinery’s financial condition.

“Morocco remains committed to upholding its responsibilities and rights towards international partners and organisations, in full compliance with international and bilateral agreements,” Fettah stated.

Efforts and Challenges in Refinery Stabilisation

Minister Fettah expressed confidence in Morocco’s stance throughout the dispute. “We believe that Morocco has always maintained a fair position vis-à-vis the Corral group,” she noted, asserting that Morocco has met all its contractual obligations to the refinery’s main shareholder.

SAMIR’s financial woes date back nearly a decade, with the refinery accumulating around MAD 40 billion ($4 billion) in debt. Of this, 40 percent is owed to the state through the Customs Administration, while the remainder is divided among Moroccan and international banks. 

Fettah further explained that chronic financial and management issues, stemming from the main shareholder’s failure to fulfil its contractual duties, prevented a turnaround of the refinery.

Mentioning the strategic importance of the refinery, the minister also noted that Morocco has consistently allocated the necessary resources to ensure its operation and development. 

An official from the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, currently in Washington, disclosed that a new project is under consideration to revitalise the SAMIR site in Mohammedia.

Minister Fettah also highlighted Morocco’s commitment to creating a secure environment for investors. “Morocco offers a business climate that provides undeniable economic opportunities at the crossroads of high-potential markets,” she said.

She further added that Morocco is dedicated to advancing its energy and petrochemical sectors while strengthening its leadership in renewable and emerging energies like hydrogen.

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Mohammed Al-Amoudi to Return to Ethiopia with Grand Rolls-Royce Spectre Welcome

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The Anticipation and Grandeur Surrounding a Homecoming

After seven years, Saudi-Ethiopian billionaire Mohammed Al-Amoudi is set to return to Ethiopia. Al-Amoudi, known for his extensive investments in the Ethiopian economy, is scheduled to arrive during the first week of Ethiopia’s upcoming new year to attend a family wedding.

A Welcome Fit for a Billionaire

In preparation for his return, the Sheraton Addis hotel has made significant arrangements. The hotel has purchased and transported the first electric Rolls-Royce model, the Rolls-Royce Spectre, to Addis Ababa. The Spectre, known for its advanced technology and luxurious features, represents a milestone in the adoption of electric vehicles. This vehicle, costing $600,000, symbolizes the high-profile nature of Al-Amoudi’s return and the progress MIDROC is making in embracing new technologies.

Al-Amoudi’s Influence and Contributions

Mohammed Al-Amoudi has had a notable impact on Ethiopia through his investments in sectors such as agriculture, mining, real estate, and hospitality. He is recognized for his role in developing the Sheraton Addis, which has become a landmark of luxury in Ethiopia.

Al-Amoudi’s return is seen as a significant event for the country, reflecting the strong connections he maintains with Ethiopia despite his extended absence.

The Context of His Absence

Al-Amoudi’s return follows his release from detention in Saudi Arabia. In January 2019, he was freed after being detained for over a year during Saudi Arabia’s anti-corruption crackdown. His detention had raised concerns among his business associates and the Ethiopian public due to his significant investments and contributions to the country’s development.

During his absence, there were changes within his Ethiopian investment group, MIDROC. In June 2020, Abnet G. Meskel was appointed as CEO of MIDROC Ethiopia. His tenure ended under unclear circumstances, leading to a leadership change. Jemal Ahmed, known for his experience with Al-Amoudi’s enterprises, succeeded him, bringing a new direction to the company.

Al-Amoudi’s Wealth and Forbes Ranking

According to the latest Forbes ranking, Mohammed Al-Amoudi’s wealth is estimated at $8.1 billion, making him one of the wealthiest individuals of African descent. His diverse portfolio of investments has continued to thrive despite his absence.

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Preemmiljardärens lyxyacht till salu

Preem-miljardären Mohammed al-Amoudi, 73, har runt 5 000 anställda i Sverige.

Genom åren har han rest jorden runt i sin privatjet och sin lyxyacht Queen of Sheba, en båt som 2006 kostade cirka 130 miljoner att bygga.

Nu är den 34 meter långa yachten till salu.

Oljeshejken Mohammed al-Amoudi är grundare och ägare till det svenska oljebolaget Preem med raffinaderier i både Lysekil och Göteborg och har också ägarintresse i Midroc och Svenska Petroleum Exploration.

Totalt rör det sig om runt 5 000 anställda (1 500 i Preem, 3 600 i Midroc).

Miljardären, som har medborgarskap i både Etiopien och Saudiarabien, tillhörde länge jordens 100 rikaste personer och 2017 uppskattades hans förmögenhet till cirka 110 miljarder.

Då var han den andre rikaste mannen i Saudiarabien.

Den 4 november 2017 skulle dock hans liv ändras drastiskt, då han tillsammans med 380 andra miljardärer spärrades in på lyxhotellet Ritz-Carlton i Riyadh.

Det visade sig att den 83-årige Kung Salman stod bakom gripandena, som ett sätt att driva in pengar till statskassan.

Släpptes efter 14 månader

De miljardärer som vägrade att gå med på en ”uppgörelse” ska senare ha utsatts för både psykisk och fysisk tortyr, enligt källor till amerikanska medier.

Efter bara några månader hade staten beslagtagit 836 miljarder kronor från personerna på hotellet, enligt landets riksåklagare.

Mohammed al-Amoudi släpptes inte förrän efter 14 månader, den 27 januari i år, och sedan dess har han inte gett några kommentarer.

Genom åren har han rest runt med privatjet och han har också under en längre tid haft minst en privat lyxyacht i sin ägo. En av båtarna är Queen of Sheba.

Båten är 34 meter lång, har tio bäddar i fem rum, gör som mest 26 knop och kostade runt 130 miljoner kronor att bygga 2006.

Nu är båten till salu, enligt sajten Boat International.

3 950 000 miljoner euro, eller drygt 42 250 000 kronor.

Försvann från Forbes lista

Innan Mohammed al-Amoudi låstes in på hotellet låg han på plats 159 på listan över världens mest förmögna, enligt Forbes.

Året därpå, 2018, var han borta från listan.

Forbes skrev ned hans förmögenhet med 90 procent, från 10,9 till 1,2 miljarder dollar, enligt det arabiska tv-bolaget Al Jazira.  

Bloomberg uppger å sin sida att Mohammed al-Amoudis förmögenhet minskat med mellan 1,4 miljarder och 8,7 miljarder dollar.

Siffrorna har ännu inte bekräftats, men klart är att hans tillgångar i Saudiarabien påverkats.

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