Saudi fund secretly invested $500 million in Russian oil

Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding, a firm controlled by billionaire Prince Al Walid Bin Talal, secretly invested more than $500 million in three major Russian energy companies between February and March, official documents show.

Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding, a company controlled by billionaire Prince Al Walid Bin Talal, secretly invested more than $500 million in three major Russian energy companies between February and March, US news channel CNN reports. This should emerge from official documents.

With investments in Gazprom (GZPFY), Rosneft and Lukoil, the kingdom was likely looking for undervalued assets, according to the report. However, the move came at a time when many Western countries were imposing sanctions on Russian energy companies and their executives following the military escalation in Ukraine on February 24.

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have so far attempted to maintain a neutral stance on the military standoff between Ukraine and Russia, causing frustration among some Western nations. The kingdom invested 1.37 billion riyals ($365 million) and 196 million riyals ($52 million) in Gazprom and Roseneft global depositary receipts in February, respectively.

The company also invested 410 million riyals ($109 million) in Lukoil US depositary receipts between February and March, according to documents filed on Sunday, which are part of a detailed disclosure of the recent investments. The company gave no reasons for its specific investments.

Kingdom Holding, which is 16.9 percent owned by the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, had not previously disclosed details of its investments. Prince Al Walid bin Talal rose to international prominence after making a large, winning bet on Citigroup (C) in the 1990s, and he was an early investor in Apple.