The spying case pointed an unusually public finger at Saudi Arabia, a staunch U.S.
law enforcement believes that to be the case.Īljbreen, who is also known as Ahmed Almutairi, could not be reached for comment. Twitter and the Department of Justice declined to say whether the two referred to the same person, although a federal source familiar with the matter said U.S. The FBI complaint, announced in November, said a man also known by that name controls a Saudi social media marketing company that does work for the royal family. Smaat is run by Ahmed Aljbreen, according to his LinkedIn account and other social media profiles. It named as the source of the activity a Riyadh-based social media marketing company called Smaat, which has ties to several high-profile Saudi figures and news outlets. Twitter announced the suspension of the accounts on Friday, saying only that they were linked “to a significant state-backed information operation” originating in Saudi Arabia. FILE PHOTO - The Twitter logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 28, 2016.
