I was also suspicious of MBS' 'anti-corruption' drive last year. There is no doubt that there's corruption among the rich and powerful but a sudden purge seemed more like a power consolidation move https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Saudi_Arabian_purge
That's smart for him to do. If you want absolute power you need to scare the crap out of the competitors(1). Remember, the way he got power is new, and could be there for 50 years. Lots of super rich, but unhappy cousins and uncles. No doubt the Marriot family meeting will happen again and again.
(1)...of course after you've made sure no coup d'etat happens in response.
He's consolidating power but if recordings come out on how the journo was murdered, this guy will no longer meet Bill Gates or Bezos in his next US trip. He'll be treated like mad African dictators were.
An anti-corruption drive is nearly always just a power shift. Look at the various ones in China, it's never about corruption and more about one branch of the political elite taking out another.
