Jordan Times
Monday, January 24, 2005
Khader says Chalabi's arrest
Iraqi affair
By Alia Shukri Hamzeh with agency dispatches
AMMAN — The government on Sunday said plans by Iraqi interim officials to arrest
controversial politician Ahmed Chalabi remain an internal affair of the
violence-torn country.
Government Spokesperson Asma Khader, however, welcomed a possible extradition of
Chalabi if he is arrested, noting that he is a fugitive from Jordanian law and
was convicted on several counts of fraud and embezzlement in connection with the
1989 collapse of Petra Bank.
“Chalabi was convicted and remains a wanted man in Jordan. If he is extradited,
then the necessary legal measures will be taken against him,” said Khader, also
minister of culture.
Iraqi Defence Minister Hazem Shaalan announced over the weekend that his
country's authorities would initiate criminal proceedings against Chalabi for
his conviction in Jordan and he would be turned over to Interpol after Eid Al
Adha.
In 1992, an Arthur Anderson audit indicated that JD242 million were missing from
Petra Bank, where Chalabi was president. Chalabi was convicted by the State
Security Court of embezzlement, theft, forgery and currency speculation among
other charges. He was sentenced to 22 years of hard labour and ordered to repay
more than JD350 million in embezzled funds. But Chalabi fled the country before
his trial got underway.
Shaalan told Al Jazeera on Friday that Chalabi wanted to tarnish the image of
the Iraqi defence ministry and the reputation of the minister. A secular Shiite
figure who comes from a wealthy Iraqi family, Chalabi was also reportedly
accused of wanting to “commit crimes against the Iraqi people.”
Shaalan repeated his statements in Amman, where he was expected to meet with
officials to discuss the upcoming January 30 elections and a possible
extradition of Chalabi, whose political party is a major rival of the minister's
coalition in the electoral process.
Some sources said Shaalan's visit to Amman was an attempt at electioneering, as
he is an Iraqi List candidate running for the 275-member national assembly. The
Iraqi List includes President Ghazi Yawer and Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.
Chalabi, the president of the Iraqi National Congress, however managed to run
under the United Iraqi Alliance, which groups the Supreme Council for the
Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the Islamic Dawa Party and the Alliance of
Independent Democrats.
Shaalan's Amman visit was made amidst claims and counterclaims of impropriety
between both he and Chalabi.
The strife between the two men reportedly intensified last week after Chalabi
called for Shaalan to be investigated for allegedly transferring hundreds of
millions of dollars from the Iraqi Central Bank to a financial institution in
Lebanon.
Chalabi on Sunday again denied he fled Baghdad to Basra for fear he would be
arrested.
“My answer to Shaalan is that he knows nothing about law or how a state is to be
administered and he cannot overcome Iraqi authority and thus he cannot arrest
anybody,” said former exile Chalabi, who is known for his successful lobbying
for a US invasion of Iraq.