Saudi Arabia recently cracked the whip and ‘detained’ several prominent royals, nationals and businessmen following allegations of corruption.

One of the highest profile names to have been detained was Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a prominent businessman who has stakes in some of the world’s biggest companies including Twitter and Apple Computers.

Family sources claimed that Prince Alwaleed was released from detention yesterday, according to Al Jazeera.

Hours earlier, in an exclusive interview with Reuters, he had said he was expected to be cleared of charges and released from custody within days.

“There’re no charges. There’re just some discussions between me and the government. I believe we’re on the verge of finishing everything within days,” the 62-year-old had said in the televised interview.

However, the BBC quoted an official as saying that the Prince was released following a financial settlement approved by the state prosecutor.

The other prominent names who were released includes MBC TV Channel owner Waleed Al Ibrahim, former head of the royal court Khalid Al Tuwaijri and fashion retail shop tycoon Fawaz Alhokair.

The release of Prince Alwaleed appeared to signal the winding down of an opaque, two-and-a-half month operation that Saudi officials said was meant to stamp out the kingdom’s endemic corruption, according to New York Times.