Wealthy Saudis were unwilling to invest domestically as a sign that showed Salman’s Vision 2030 economic reforms program could sooner or later hit troubled waters, according to a report by Forbes.

The report noted that the government might be monitoring wealthy Saudis and private businesses financial transactions and might even take steps “to prevent these people from moving assets out of the country”.

The arrests of 300 prominent Saudi royals and businessmen by Salman’s security apparatus had already led to the stifling of the private sector in the kingdom, Forbes added, and  many wealthy Saudis had already become unwilling to invest domestically despite the government’s centralized push for business growth.

A new report shows wealthy Saudis are reluctant to make internal investments over fears that they may be targeted and robbed of their assets by the security apparatus of bin Salman – as happened to many others last year.

The report further added that things could get even worse if the prices of oil continue to fall in markets.

Meanwhile, it's now over three years since the start of the Saudi-led war on Yemen. The war is estimated to have cost the Saudis upwards of $100 billion, eroded the international image of the kingdom and failed to achieve its objectives of ousting the popular Ansarullah movement and restoring to power fugitive ex-president Abdu Rabuh Mansour Hadi, a Riyadh puppet. The high war costs have had damaging influence on the struggling Saudi economy and thus impacted negatively on the kingdom's economic reforms.