Report: Khashoggi Kids Getting 'Blood Money' Payments

Government has reportedly given the 4 children homes worth up to $4M
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 2, 2019 5:27 AM CDT
Report: Khashoggi Children Given Money, Homes by Saudi Government
In this Dec. 15, 2014 photo, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi speaks during a press conference in Manama, Bahrain.   (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali, File)

The four children of murdered Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi have received homes worth up to $4 million apiece and monthly payments of at least $10,000 as the kingdom tries to limit fallout from the killing, sources tell the Washington Post. The sources—including Saudi officials—say the payments, which were approved by King Salman, have been made to ensure Khashoggi's two daughters and two sons "show restraint in their public statements about the killing of their father by Saudi operatives" at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate last year. Eldest son Salah Khashoggi is the only one of the siblings who still lives in Saudi Arabia. The others, who live in the US, plan to sell the Jeddah homes they were given, the insiders say.

Salah, a banker who has led negotiations with the Saudi government, declined to comment on the report. The government claims the killings were carried out by "rogue agents." The Post's sources say that after the trials of Khashoggi's alleged killers, the siblings could end up with tens of millions of dollars in "blood money" payments. One official, however, says the support the siblings are receiving is customary and denies that they are being pressured to keep silent. Five of 11 suspects indicted in November could face the death penalty if convicted, and it's not clear whether the Khashoggi siblings will have to pardon them to receive the multimillion-dollar payoffs, Al Jazeera reports. The move could close the case without senior officials having to go to trial. (Analysts say the alleged killers were probably trained in the US.)

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