The American Democratic senator wants to investigate the participation of the Saudi company in Twitter

WASHINGTON, Oct 31 (Reuters) – Democratic U.S. Senator Chris Murphy said on Monday he wants a U.S. national security review of a Saudi Arabian conglomerate’s stake in Twitter Inc after Elon Musk. pick up of the social media company.

Murphy said he was asking the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) — which reviews acquisitions of U.S. companies by foreign buyers — “to conduct an investigation into the implications of national security of Twitter’s purchase from Saudi Arabia.”

Most foreigners seeking to take even non-controlling stakes in US companies must seek approval from CFIUS, a powerful committee led by the Treasury that reviews transactions for national security concerns and has the power to block them. .

On Friday, the Saudi Arabian Kingdom Holding Company and the private office of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said they would continue their ownership of Twitter shares valued at $1.89 billion, according to a statement tweeted by Prince Alwaleed.

“The deal is in line with the long-term investment strategy for which Kingdom Holding Company is known,” the statement said.

Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding is 16.9% of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which is chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“We should be concerned that the Saudis, who have a clear interest in suppressing political speech and influencing US policy, are now the second largest owner of a large social network platform,” Murphy wrote on Twitter “There is a clear national security issue at play and CFIUS should do a review.

The Saudi embassy in Washington did not immediately comment. Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for the US Treasury, which leads CFIUS, declined to comment.

Musk last week closed the $44 billion deal announced in April to take Twitter private. Banks including Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) committed to providing $13 billion in debt financing.

Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington Editing by Franklin Paul and Matthew Lewis

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