Revelation to strain UK-Saudi relation

A British court decision to disclose documents on financial scandal and corruption involving some Saudi Princes is expected to result in a judicial and political row between the UK and the Saudi Arabia.

The court announced that it has delivered Al Saud corruption files to two British newspapers including The Guardian and The Financial Times, AlArabOnline news website reported.

The papers will expose Saudi princes’ role in illegal contracts in the Lebanese capital of Beirut and Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

Sources close to The Guardian wrote in the paper’s website that the files, which make charges on members of the ruling Al Saud family, would have reverberations on Britain’s relationship with the Saudi regime.

The claims against Prince Abdulaziz bin Mishaal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, son of former defence minister Prince Mishaal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, raised from the sale of $6.7 million (£4.3 million) in shares.

Court judge Justice Morgan said the dispute had thrown up a “nuclear mushroom cloud” of litigation.

The Saudi prince and his father have argued that the claims should not be made public.

Earlier this month, Riyadh also warned Britain that it will suspend its economic cooperation with London unless British MPs stop interfering in the domestic affairs of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council’s member countries, particularly Bahrain.

Saudi Arabia, which is accused of brutal crackdown on peaceful anti-regime protests, is considered as Britain’s largest trading partner in the Middle East, with bilateral trade worth more than £15 billion every year.