Saudi Arabia: Public Investment Fund "facilitated and benefited" from human rights abuses, finds Human Rights Watch report
In November 2024, Human Rights Watch released a report alleging Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has benefited from and facilitated human rights abuses.
The report found the PIF is controlled predominantly by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who uses the economic power of the PIF to whitewash government abuses, instead of using the sovereign wealth fund for the benefit of the Saudi people.
The crown prince has used the Saudi sovereign wealth fund’s economic power to commit serious human rights violations and whitewash the reputational harm from these abuses.Joey Shea, Saudi Arabia researcher at Human Rights Watch
Among the abuses described in the report, Human Rights Watch sheds light on how the PIF has:
- Benefited from arbitrary detentions and the extortion of property in 2017
- Been linked to abuse through companies it controls, including the murder of Saudi journalist Khashoggi through the use of Sky Prime Aviation (owned by PIF) planes to transfer Saudi argents to Istanbul.
- Tunnelled funds into mega-projects, including NEOM, a new city and economic zone on the Red Sea, and the Jeddah Central Project through the PIF owned Jeddah Central Development Company, that have been linked to egregious rights violations, including the forced eviction of residents and migrant worker abuse.
- Been used as a tool to neutralise scrutiny of Mohammed bin Salman’s agenda through oversees investments, including sports investments in the LIV Golf tour, FIFA 2034 World Cup, and the Premier League football club Newcastle United.
Businesses with ties to the Saudi Public Investment Fund have a responsibility to end their engagement with it if serious human rights violations connected with the PIF are unavoidable.Joey Shea, Saudi Arabia researcher at Human Rights Watch
The report names numerous companies who Human Rights Watch reached for comment, including: Public Investment Fund, Affinity Partners, Alpha Star, Boston Consulting Group, M. Klein and Company, McKinsey & Company Inc., Teneo, KARV Communications, Jeddah Central Development Company, Al Ahli Saudi Club Company, Al Hilal Saudi Football Club, Al Ittihad Saudi Football Club, Al Nassr Saudi Football Club, NEOM Company, Qiddiya Investments Company, Red Sea Global, Saudi Aramco, Sanabil Investments Company, Sky Prime Aviation Services.
KARV Communications, McKinsey & Company, and Teneo replied to Human Rights Watch. The remaining companies had not replied to Human Rights Watch at the time of publication. Human Rights Watch also previously wrote to LIV Golf in 2022, urging the league to develop a strategy to mitigate the risk of laundering the reputation of the Saudi government. It did not respond.
FIFA, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, Newcastle United, Formula 1, and the Women’s Tennis Association are also named in the reporting through their links to the PIF. These companies have commented previously on the concerns raised in the report.