Saudi Prince Alwaleed breaks Twitter silence following release from detention

Saudi Arabia's billionaire royal, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, has made his first comment on social media since he was released last week after being held for three months during an anti-corruption crackdown.

The prince took to Twitter on Friday to post images of him and his family enjoying an outing in the desert, days after he was released following an undisclosed financial agreement with the government.

"With my son Khaled Alwaleed and my daughter Reem Alwaleed and my grandchildren accompanied by family and people," he said.

He posted images of himself on horseback and him spending time with his grandchildren in a desert camp outside the capital Riyadh.

Prince Alwaleed, dubbed the Warren Buffett of Saudi Arabia, was the most high-profile detainee among 350 suspects rounded up since November 4, including business tycoons and ministers, who were held in Riyadh's luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel.

The prince was released last Saturday following an undisclosed financial agreement with the government, similar to deals that authorities struck with most other detainees in exchange for their freedom.

The multi-billionaire has a vast array of business interests across the world, including holdings in Twitter and Apple.

Riyadh-listed Kingdom Holding confirmed on Thursday that Prince Alwaleed remained its chairman, brushing aside speculation that he had forfeited control following his detention.

The prolonged detention of the prince, ranked among the richest men in the world, had sent shock waves across a host of companies that count him as a major investor.

Cheering employees and supporters greeted the tycoon earlier this week as he waved from his convoy while arriving at Riyadh's Kingdom Centre, where the investment company is headquartered, an online video showed.

Attorney General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb has said that $107 billion has been recovered so far in the anti-corruption purge in various forms of assets handed over that included property, securities and cash.

Crown Prince Mohammed, the 32-year-old son of the king, has spearheaded the unprecedented crackdown on 'corruption' among members of the government and royal family, as he consolidates his grip on power.

Critics have labelled Prince Mohammed's campaign a shakedown and power grab, but authorities insist the purge targeted endemic corruption as the country prepares for a post-oil era.