Bill Gates Foundation Suspends Work With Saudi Fund After Khashoggi's Murder - Reports

Bill Gates Foundation Suspends Work With Saudi Fund After Khashoggi's Murder - Reports

The foundation of US business magnate and founder of Microsoft Corporation Bill Gates and his wife Melinda has decided to suspend its future cooperation with a youth charity founded by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman following the murder of Saudi opposition journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, media reported.

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd November, 2018) The foundation of US business magnate and founder of microsoft Corporation Bill Gates and his wife Melinda has decided to suspend its future cooperation with a youth charity founded by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman following the murder of Saudi opposition journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, media reported.

The Saudi crown prince founded Misk foundation in 2011. Last year, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation jointly with Misk launched a charitable initiative aimed at supporting innovative projects of young people from different countries in the field of health and development.

"Jamal Khashoggi's abduction and murder are extremely troubling. We are observing current events with concern," a spokeswoman for the foundation told The Wall Street Journal.

According to the media outlet, initially the Gates' foundation intended to spend $5 million on the implementation of the initiative, but now the foundation has decided to stop working with Misk. Saudi benefactors have reportedly managed to get $1.5 million from the Gates.

The website of the Saudi crown prince' foundation shows that such companies as Google and Twitter, as well as Harvard University, are cooperating with Misk. The publication notes that it is still unknown whether they plan to continue working with the foundation.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist known for his criticism of Saudi policies, was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. On October 19, after more than two weeks of denials, Saudi Arabia admitted the journalist had been killed in a brawl inside the consulate. According to Riyadh, 18 people have been arrested over their suspected involvement in the incident.

On October 26, the Saudi prosecutor general acknowledged that the journalist's murder had been orchestrated in advance. However, Riyadh maintains that the murder had nothing to do with the Saudi Royal family, describing it as a rogue operation.