沙特展开大范围腐败调查关押208人

Saudi Arabia's attorney general is confirming the country has detained 208 people in a wide corruption probe and estimates more than $100 billion had been embezzled over many years.

In a statement Thursday, Saud al-Mojeb said seven of the people detained had been released without charge, but the other 201 remain in custody. Around 1,700 bank accounts also were frozen by the government.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he spoke with Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on Tuesday. The secretary said, "It's my understanding that they're characterizing [the detentions] as not really arrests at this point, but they're presenting people with evidence of what they think the wrongdoing is to see if there's a willingness to want to make things right."

Tillerson said, “it raises a few concerns until we see more clearly how these particular individuals are dealt with."

Critics of the Saudi government say the probe is aimed at purging top Saudi government officials and sidelining rivals, as 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman heads the newly formed anti-graft commission.

沙特阿拉伯总检察长穆吉布证实，沙特在大规模腐败调查行动中关押了208人，据估计多年来有1000多亿美元被侵吞。

穆吉布星期四发表声明说，其中7人已被释放，没有受到指控，其他201人仍然在押。沙特政府还冻结了大约1700个银行账户。

美国国务卿雷克斯·蒂勒森说，他星期四跟沙特外交大臣朱拜尔交谈过。蒂勒森说：“我的理解是，目前他们对这次羁押尚未定性为逮捕，但是他们向相关人员展示了证明不当行为的证据，看他们是否有意愿纠正错误。”

蒂勒森国务卿说：“这让我们有些担忧，除非我们清楚地了解到这些人被如何处理。”

沙特政府的批评者说，这次大规模调查的目的是清洗沙特政府高层官员，让对手靠边站。沙特新成立的反贪腐委员会由32岁的王储穆罕默德·本·萨勒曼领导。