Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook

Uproar After NC State Agent 'Fixes' Girl's Lunch Preschooler has to eat chicken nuggets instead of mom's meal »

Saudi Family Feud Rocks World Banks

Saudi economy suffers as in-laws squabble over business

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 22, 2009 8:03 AM CDT

(Newser) – A bitter dispute between two of Saudi Arabia's richest families is damaging the world banking industry, dragging down the Saudi economy, and causing deep discomfort over Ramadan party invites. The Gosaibi clan accuse their son-in-law Ma'an al Sanea of embezzling $10 billion from the family business, while Sanea says the other family is making him a scapegoat for their losses in the financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The two families owe more than 100 lenders some $15 billion, but Saudi courts have frozen many of their assets as a flurry of lawsuits continues, forcing some banks to write off hundreds of millions of dollars. Few expect the family feud to end anytime soon. Outside Sanea's mansion—next door to his in-laws' estate—lies a dusty box holding the pile of court summonses he has refused to accept for months.

[Images (1)]

[Quotes (1)]

A Saudi man reads a newspaper while keeping an eye on a screen displaying stock market figures in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

This is all so embarrassing. In the end, there will be no winner.
- A family member on the Gosaibi side

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Eurozone Economy Shrinks

Nine of 17 member states post a fall

(NEWSER) - For the first time since 2009, the eurozone economy contracted last quarter. The fourth quarter of 2011 saw the GDP shrink 0.3% compared to the third quarter; the last quarterly contraction occurred during the second quarter of 2009 when the GDP dropped 0.2%. Meanwhile, the GDP grew just 0.7% compared to a year earlier, the smallest gain since the fourth quarter of 2009. Nine of the 17 member states posted a fall, and economists are forecasting more contraction to come, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

Hey, Wall Street: Shut Up About Bonuses

Matt Taibbi says bankers are still overpaid

(NEWSER) - Matt Taibbi was incredulous when he read a recent New York piece in which Wall Street denizens whined that Dodd-Frank was limiting their bonuses. "I watch what I spend," one banker lamented, "but my girlfriend likes to eat good food," which adds up fast. "Quelle horreur!" Taibbi quips in Rolling Stone , before shredding the argument. Actually, bank compensation is falling because of the European debt crisis. Bankers he knows are saying things like, "If the ECB doesn't come up with a Greek bailout package, I'm going to have to sell my children for dog food." And at some banks (like Goldman Sachs), bonuses are actually up relative to earnings. More»

Islamists Call for Execution of Young Tweeter

Hamza Kashgari, 23, tweeted that he wants to talk to Mohammed as a 'friend'

(NEWSER) - Islamists are calling for the execution of a young Saudi Arabian who tweeted last week about the Prophet Mohammed. "I have loved the rebel in you, you’ve always been a source of inspiration to me," Hamza Kashgari, 23, wrote in a tweet addressed to Mohammed. But "I do not like the halos of divinity around you. I shall not pray for you,” he added. "I shall not kiss your hand. Rather, I shall shake it as equals do, and smile at you as you smile at me. I shall speak to you as a friend, no more." His tweets triggered more than 30,000 responses in a single day, many of them from enraged Saudis calling for his death. Kashgari has since deleted his Twitter account, and apologized, but his home address was posted on YouTube and vigilantes have been hunting him at his mosque, reports the Daily Beast . More»

Students Revolt Against Big Bank Recruiting

Protests spread across Ivy League campuses

(NEWSER) - Half of those surveyed in Harvard's class of 2010 went into finance or consulting; at the University of Pennsylvania, the figure was even higher—and some students are fed up with the "brain drain." Inspired in part by the Occupy movement, students have launched protests against recruiting by big banks, consulting firms, and hedge funds at top universities ranging from Princeton to Stanford, NPR reports. "You've got 20% to 30% of some of the top talent in this country going into a sector that is not necessarily contributing to economic and social productivity," says movement leader Teryn Norris. More»

Switzerland's Oldest Bank Indicted Over US Tax Cheats

Wegelin brought down by probe

(NEWSER) - A Swiss bank older than the US has been indicted by the Justice Department for helping Americans dodge taxes. Wegelin, a 270-year-old private bank, helped some 100 wealthy Americans hide more than $1.2 billion from the IRS, according to the indictment. Clients who decided to co-operate with the investigation gave the Justice Department details about the bank's inner workings, which led to the indictment, Reuters reports. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Saudi Family Feud Rocks World Banks