More major players in international finance and industry are pulling out of a high-profile business conference in Saudi Arabia, in the wake of reports that a Saudi writer critical of the government disappeared and is feared dead after entering a Saudi consulate in Turkey.
Saudi writer and Washington Post contributor, Jamal Khashoggi, went missing when he visited the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on 2 October. Turkish officials fear Khashoggi was killed and dismembered, allegations Saudi officials call "baseless."
The chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co, Jamie Dimon, had been a featured speaker at the conference in Riyadh. The Wall Street Journal reports that Dimon has backed out.
Ford Motor Co. confirms that Executive Chairman Bill Ford will not attend. He too had been scheduled to speak.
Earlier, a member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee says the US-Saudi relations may need "to be completely revised" if an investigation finds the kingdom's government responsible for the murder of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi.
Florida Republican Marco Rubio had also told CNN that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin shouldn’t attend the major investment conference in Saudi Arabia, in wake of Khashoggi’s possible killing.
President Donald Trump, too, had warned of "severe punishment" if Saudi Arabia was found to be complicit in the disappearance of US resident and journalist, Khashoggi.
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