Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund — chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman — has become a key vehicle for the kingdom to silence international criticism, Human Rights Watch said in a report.
The Public Investment Fund lacks oversight and has also been complicit in human rights violations in pursuit of the crown prince’s vision to shake up the country’s economy and society, according to the report released Nov. 20.
“To mute criticism and deflect from the country’s rights record, PIF investments in foreign jurisdictions provide incentives for silence on Saudi Arabia’s poor rights record, proliferate distorted narratives of reform, and build support for Mohammed bin Salman,” the report said.
Human Rights Watch cited the 2023 framework agreement between the PGA Tour and PIF-backed LIV Golf that included a “non-disparagement clause” preventing the US-based circuit’s officials from criticizing Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. The report also highlighted what it said was forced evictions of people living in areas of Saudi Arabia that the PIF is developing, which it said in some cases resulted in detentions and death sentences.
Representatives for the PIF declined to comment. The government has said in the past that residents are offered generous compensation to move away from areas earmarked for development by entities related to the PIF.
Prince Mohammed transformed the fund from a sleepy domestic holding company into one of the most high-profile global investors in less than a decade. The nearly $1 trillion entity is now a key instrument of the country’s soft power projection internationally and one of the most important vehicles for the crown prince’s push to wean the Saudi economy off oil.
While MBS, as the crown prince is known, has unleashed a wave of changes to Saudi society including defanging the religious police and allowing women to drive, he’s also launched an “unprecedented” crackdown on dissent, Human Rights Watch said.
He has also concentrated power within the PIF, giving himself near total control of the fund, according to the report. Overhauls of the fund and its management by MBS, have placed him as chairman of its board and a government committee overseeing its operations, and allowed him to install key allies in powerful positions. Since becoming prime minister in 2022, he also has the ability to appoint board members.
Middle East sovereign wealth funds are often controlled by members of ruling families.
For example, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, another $1 trillion fund in neighboring United Arab Emirates, is chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a brother of the country’s president.
While the PIF’s disclosures are limited compared to Norway’s $1.7 trillion wealth fund, in recent years it has started publishing accounts and an annual report, and detailing governance procedures on its website.
