Officials in Spain are reopening an investigation into allegations that Saudi Arabia's Prince Prince Alwaleed bin Talal drugged and raped a young woman on a yacht in Ibiza in 2008. The case was closed on grounds of insufficient evidence last year. However, a higher provincial court has accepted an order to reopen the investigation. The order that called for reinvestigations stated that the prince was not himself questioned in the former probe. It also reports that the young woman was found with semen in her body, as well as traces of a sedative called nordazepam. The woman's lawyer, Javier Beloqui, stated that if the prince is indeed innocent, he should testify and provide a DNA sample to match against the DNA found in the woman. The prince's investment firm, Kingdom Holding Company, claims that the allegations are untrue. They stated that the prince was not in Ibiza during the time of the assault, and had not been to the island in the past decade. The statement also claimed that the prince and his lawyers were unaware of the allegations in 2008 and even the case's dismissal in 2010. “The alleged encounter simply never happened. Indeed, the events could not have happened,” read the company's statement. “Neither His Royal Highness nor his lawyers were informed or aware of any complaint filed in Ibiza in 2008 or that the same complaint was dismissed in 2010.” Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is a leading investor in Citigroup and News Corp. Forbes magazine counted him as the 26th richest person in the world this year, with an estimated $19.6 billion fortune. BM
