ADDIS ABABA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopian born Saudi billionaire Sheikh Mohammed Al-Amoudi will soon be released from detention in Saudi Arabia, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Saturday.
Ahmed made the statement after returning on Saturday from a two-day official state visit to Saudi Arabia where he held discussion with Saudi Arabia's Crown Price Mohammed bin Salman on ways to boost Ethio-Saudi ties and the fate of Ethiopians detained in Saudi jails.
Al-Amoudi is Ethiopia's largest private investor, with an estimated 2 billion U.S. dollars investment in the East African country ranging from hotels, real estate and construction to agriculture and mining.
Al-Amoudi was arrested last November in Saudi Arabia along with dozens of princes and government officials in a Saudi anti-corruption crackdown.
The Ethiopian born billionaire made his fortunes in the 1980s in the construction sector in Saudi Arabia, before moving part of his business to Ethiopia in the early 1990s as the East African country moved away from socialist economic model to a capitalist one.
Aside from Ethiopia, Al-Amoudi is believed to have business interests in Sweden, Morocco and Saudi Arabia.
The Forbes magazine said Al-Amoudi had an estimated net worth of 8.1 billion dollars as of March 2017, making him the second richest person in Africa next to Nigerian tycoon Aliko Dangote.
On Friday, state media Ethiopia Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) reported Ahmed had secured a promise from Saudi authorities to release 1,000 Ethiopians from Saudi jails, mostly imprisoned for illegal entry.
It is estimated every year thousands of Ethiopians travel across the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia looking for better economic opportunities, often employed in the informal sector without having valid residency permits.
