RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the kingdom’s top international businessmen, was released from detention on Saturday, more than two months after he was taken into custody in a sweeping crackdown on corruption. 
 
 His release came hours after he told Reuters in an interview at Riyadh’s opulent Ritz-Carlton hotel that he expected to be cleared of any wrongdoing and be freed within days. 
 
 A senior Saudi official said Prince Alwaleed was freed after he reached a financial settlement with the attorney general. 
 
 “The attorney general has approved this morning the settlement that was reached with Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, and the prince returned home at 1100 a.m. (0800 GMT),” the official told Reuters, without giving details of the terms. 
 
 The decision to free him, and the release of several other well-known tycoons on Friday, suggested the main part of the corruption probe was winding down after it sent shockwaves through Saudi Arabia’s business and political establishment. 
 
 In his first interview since being detained, conducted hours before his release, Prince Alwaleed told Reuters he maintained his innocence of any corruption in talks with the authorities. 
 
 He said he expected to keep full control of his global investment firm Kingdom Holding Co 4280.SE without being required to hand assets to the state. He said he had been able to communicate with executives at his business while detained. 
 
 Prince Alwaleed, who is in his early 60s, described his confinement as a “misunderstanding” and said he supported reform efforts by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. 
 
 “There are no charges. There are just some discussions between me and the government,” he said. 
 
 Prince Alwaleed had been confined at the Ritz-Carlton since early November, along with dozens of other senior officials and businessmen, part of the crown prince’s plan to reform oil superpower Saudi Arabia and consolidate his position. 
 
 FOREIGN INVESTOR CONCERNS 
 
 When asked if the attorney general was convinced of Prince Alwaleed’s innocence, the senior Saudi official said: 
 
 “I will not negate or confirm what he says. Generally this falls back to those who concluded the settlement, and for sure there is no settlement unless there are violations, and they are not concluded without the accused admitting it in writing and promising not to repeat it.” 
 
 The source declined to give further details, but confirmed that Prince Alwaleed would remain head of Kingdom Holding. 
 
 A Gulf banker who deals with Saudi Arabia said the authorities appeared keen to conclude the probe partly because foreign investors were concerned their assets or local business partners could be targeted in the wide-ranging crackdown. 
 
 Prince Alwaleed’s detention was particularly worrying for foreigners because of his international prominence as an investor in top Western companies such as Twitter (TWTR.N) and Citigroup (C.N), and in top hotels including the George V in Paris and the Plaza in New York, the banker said. 
 
 “The government is signaling that it wants to move to a new phase now, away from the crackdown and into other economic reforms,” the banker said. 
 
 Outside Prince Alwaleed’s Riyadh palace, dozens of cars lined the entrances as a huge Saudi flag flapped above. Guards cracked jokes and drank coffee. His office said the prince was out visiting family, but declined to give any details. 
 
 Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal sits for an interview with Reuters in the office of the suite where he has been detained at the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia January 27, 2018, REUTERS/Katie Paul 
 
 The attorney general said earlier this week that 90 detainees had been released after their were charges dropped, while others traded cash, real estate and other assets for their freedom. The authorities were still holding 95 people, he said. Some are expected to be put on trial. 
 
 “NOTHING TO HIDE” 
 
 An official Saudi source said on Friday that several prominent businessmen had reached financial settlements with the authorities, including Waleed al-Ibrahim, owner of regional television network MBC, who was released. Terms of his settlement were not revealed. 
 
 Saudi authorities have said they expect to raise some $100 billion for the government through such settlements - a huge windfall for the state, which has seen its finances squeezed by low oil prices. Some private analysts think that target will be hard to hit, given how many suspects have seen charges dropped. 
 
 Allegations against Prince Alwaleed included money laundering, bribery and extorting officials, a Saudi official told Reuters in November. The prince’s net worth has been estimated by Forbes magazine at $17 billion. 
 
 While declaring his innocence in the Reuters interview, the prince appeared greyer and thinner than in his last public appearance, a television interview in October, and had grown a beard while in detention. 
 
 “I have nothing to hide at all. I’m so comfortable, I’m so relaxed. I shave here, like at home. My barber comes here. I’m like at home, frankly speaking,” he said, adding he had been able to communicate with family members while in detention. 
 
 He granted the 30-minute interview to Reuters, including a tour of his suite, partly to disprove rumors about mistreatment and that he had been moved from the hotel to a prison. 
 
 Prince Alwaleed showed off the comforts of his gold-accented private office, dining room and kitchen, which was fully stocked with his preferred vegetarian meals. 
 
 In the corner of his office sat tennis shoes, which he said he used regularly for exercise. A television played business news programs, and a mug with an image of his own face on it was perched on the desk. 
 
 Slideshow (5 Images) 
 
 After being released, Prince Alwaleed said, he would stay in Saudi Arabia and would return to the challenge of juggling his global business interests. 
 
 “I will not leave Saudi Arabia, for sure. This is my country.” ||||| Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS 
 
 Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has quietly seized executive control over several major Saudi businesses linked to people he detained in his corruption crackdown. 
 
 The government has taken control of the country's largest construction company, Saudi Binladin Group (SBG), and the Middle East's largest private media company, MBC Group, as well as a major investment vehicle, which held stakes in firms including Twitter and McDonald's. 
 
 In January, the government appointed a five-person committee to oversee the SBG advisory board and make executive decisions on the company's business dealings. The panel consists of two members of the bin Laden family and three carefully selected Saudi industry leaders, according to the Wall Street Journal. 
 
 The Binladin Group is owned by one of the Kingdom's wealthiest families; its chairman, Bakr bin Laden, was detained in Salman's November graft along with several other relatives. Some speculate Salman's special appointment of an advisory panel was linked to a deal to release bin Laden from custody. 
 
 Last month, Saudi Authorities planned to seize ownership of a major stake in MBC Group, owned by mogul Waleed al-Ibrahim, who also found himself caught up in the corruption crackdown. 
 
 Officials ordered al-Ibrahim to hand over his leading share in the popular media company in order to secure his release, the Financial Times reported, citing sources briefed on the deal. 
 
 And most recently, Salman's administration assumed veto power over investment decisions made by the high-profile billionaire Prince al-Waleed bin Talal, who was detained in November. 
 
 Bin Talal was released in January amid an undisclosed deal, and remains the chairman of Kingdom Holding Company, which held stakes in major international companies like Twitter, McDonald's, and the Walt Disney Company. As part of his release, the Kingdom Holding Company's $12.5 billion global investment decisions are now subject to approval by the Crown Prince's court. 
 
 The Crown Prince has been carefully planning his consolidation of power 
 
 Dan Kitwood - WPA Pool/Getty Images 
 
 The 32-year-old Crown Prince's enhanced power over several major businesses are further testament to his growing consolidation of power in the Kingdom. 
 
 The ambitious prince has already caused waves in the Kingdom with his widespread graft, which proved no leader was above Salman's law, and reportedly forced the country's wealthiest to hand over control of their companies in exchange for their freedom. 
 
 Salman also began implementing the economic and social reforms outlined in his Vision 2030 plan, tightening his control over the country's policies and imprinting his name on the country's future. 
 
 The royal powerhouse already controls Saudi's military as Minister of Defense, which was handed to him in 2015 after his father King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud came into power. 
 
 While his father, not he, remains head of state, the young leader has firmly established his power by pursuing bold foreign policy moves which include ;negotiating a US nuclear power deal and meeting with Queen Elizabeth and UK Prime Minister Theresa May to potentially secure post-Brexit investment deals. 
 
 And now that the Saudi royal has high stakes in the country's infrastructure plans, media networks, and investment companies, he has cemented his place as the most powerful man in Saudi Arabia.
– One of the richest men in the world is once again a free man, but it may have cost him a fortune. Saudi billionaire Prince al-Waleed bin Talal walked out of prison Saturday after being arrested on corruption charges as part of a sweeping roundup in November, reports Reuters. More precisely, he walked out of the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton, which has been turned into a prison of sorts for Saudi elite accused of wrongdoing. Prior to his release, Saudi authorities were reportedly seeking a financial settlement of $6 billion—yes, billion—from al-Waleed, though it is unclear what, if any, amount he paid, reports the Wall Street Journal. Neither the prince nor Saudi authorities have provided details about his release, including whether he has been cleared of wrongdoing. The corruption crackdown set in place by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is widely regarded as more of a bid on his part to consolidate power as he institutes wide-ranging reform throughout the country. So far, the government has secured about $100 billion in settlements from those rounded up, though nearly 100 have not paid and face prosecution.