Rich families buy second citizenship in post-Ritz Saudi Arabia

Sebastian Castelier

Sep 28, 2020

A Saudi woman fills a passport renewal application at the Immigration and Passports Centre in the capital Riyadh on August 29, 2019. - Saudi Arabia has eased travel restrictions on women, allowing those aged over 21 to obtain passports without seeking the approval of their "guardians" - fathers, husbands or other male relatives, but observers say loopholes still allow male relatives to curtail their movements and, in the worst cases, leave them marooned in prison-like shelters. (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE / A — A Saudi woman fills out a passport renewal application at the Immigration and Passports Center in the capital Riyadh on Aug. 29, 2019. — FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

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“I have clients who escaped the Ritz-Carlton event because they were prudent enough to secure second citizenship beforehand. … The moment you hire me you are admitting to yourself that there is a danger,” David Lesperance, a Canadian lawyer who has advised dozens of affluent Gulf families since the early 1990s, told Al-Monitor.

In November 2017, 381 prominent Saudi businessmen, royals and officials were caught up in the "anti-corruption" crackdown led by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.