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Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal 'released' after two months in Ritz-Carlton prison Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal 'released' after two months in Ritz-Carlton prison
(about 9 hours later)
Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has been released from detention, family sources said on Saturday, more than two months after he was taken into custody in the kingdom's sweeping crackdown on corruption. One of the world’s richest men, Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, has been released from detention at Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton hotel where he was held as part of the Kingdom’s sweeping anti-corruption crackdown. 
His release came hours after he told Reuters in an exclusive interview at the opulent Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh that he expected to be cleared of any wrongdoing and be released from custody within days. The 62-year-old prince was the most well-known of the more than 200 royal figures, politicians and business leaders taken into custody last November in a move widely viewed as part of new crown prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to consolidate his power. 
Family sources said Prince Alwaleed was released on Saturday. The family of the multi-billionaire, who has holdings in global companies such as Twitter, Apple and Citigroup, confirmed his release on Saturday.
"He has he arrived home," one told Reuters. In an interview with Reuters the previous evening, the $17bn (£13bn) prince said, while drinking from a mug bearing his own image, that he was confident he would be cleared of wrongdoing and released soon.
Saudi officials could not immediately be reached for comment and the terms of his release were not immediately clear. Rumours have been swirling in Saudi Arabia that Prince Talal, like another high-profile detainee, Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, was trying to secure his release with a payment to the House of Saud of $1bn (£750m).
Prince Alwaleed had been confined at the Ritz-Carlton since early November, along with dozens of others, as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's plan to consolidate control and reform oil superpower Saudi Arabia. The exact circumstances and terms of his freedom are not clear.  A Saudi official said he was freed after a financial settlement was approved by the state prosecutor.
In his first interview since he was taken into custody in November, Prince Alwaleed told Reuters he was continuing to maintain his innocence of any corruption in talks with authorities. Two months after the unprecedented crackdown, many of those arrested have been released after making similar financial settlements and giving up assets such as palaces and company shares.  
He said he expected to keep full control of his global investment firm Kingdom Holding Co without being required to give up assets to the government.  The Kingdom’s attorney general has said the purge stands to put $100bn (£76bn) lost through decades of embezzlement and corruption back into state coffers. 
Reuters The Ritz-Carlton is due to reopen 14 February. Those remaining in the hotel by that date are expected to be relocated to prison to await trial. 
News agencies contributed to this report