A Saudi royal adviser fired over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi continues to wield influence in Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's inner circle, according to Western, Arab and Saudi sources with links to the royal court.

Saud al-Qahtani was dismissed as a top aide to the de facto Saudi leader in late October, after overseeing the operation to kill Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by giving orders via Skype, according to regional intelligence sources.

A senior Saudi official at the time called his removal "a political decision ... based on dereliction of duty and participation in the sequence of events" that led to the murder. Weeks later, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Qahtani for his role.