LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY
Ari Emanuel Firm Cuts Ties With Saudi Prince’s Company
https://www.thedailybeast.com/ari-emanuel-firm-cuts-ties-with-saudi-princes-company?yptr=yahoo
A division of Hollywood super-agent Ari Emanuel’s sprawling media and entertainment business has severed ties with a company owned by a powerful member of the Saudi royal family, a direct relative of the Saudi leader accused of complicity in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
International Merchandising Corp., an affiliate of Emanuel’s WME/IMG agency, notified the Department of Justice last week that it is no longer representing a company named Kingdom 5-KR-215 Ltd. The Cayman Islands-incorporated firm is owned by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the cousin of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and one of the world’s wealthiest men.
Though a direct relation, it’s not clear how close Alaweed is with the crown prince. Alaweed was one of a number of Saudi royal family members arrested during a leadership purge late last year, though he publicly endorsed the agenda of the royal known as MBS thereafter. Alaweed was also at one point a large shareholder in Fox News’ parent company. In 2017, the billionaire, who is close to News Corp. founder Rupert Murdoch, sold his 6 percent stake in 21st Century Fox.
IMC has represented Alaweed’s company since 2010, according to records on file with DOJ, work for which it’s received more than $11.3 million. The firm “facilitated participation or dialogue by or on behalf of Kingdom 5-KR-215 Ltd. on global matters of interest to company’s brand/marketing and other commercial interests, with potential digital media partners and with business, academic/philanthropic and media figures in the United States,” IMC disclosed in periodic filings under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
On Nov. 19, IMC informed DOJ that its work for the company had ceased weeks earlier, on Oct. 31. That was in the middle of a firestorm over the Saudi government’s alleged role in Khashoggi's kidnapping, murder, and dismemberment. A number of Riyadh’s U.S. lobbying and public-relations firms subsequently terminated their agreements with the kingdom.
Emanuel said last month that he was “really concerned” about the Khashoggi allegations. He declined to commit to severing ties to the kingdom, but reports surfaced around that time that he was backing away from a plan to sell a $400 million stake in his talent agency to a Saudi sovereign-wealth fund.