AMMAN, 24 May 2004 — Jordan insists that the conviction by a court here of Iraqi Governing Council member Ahmed Chalabi for fraud and embezzling millions of dollars still stands, a report said.
Government spokesman Asma Khodr told the Al-Dustour daily “our position is constant — Mr. Chalabi must appear before Jordanian justice for breach of trust”.
The apparent fall from Washington’s grace of Ahmed Chalabi, convicted in absentia by a court here for fraud and embezzling millions of dollars, has clearly triggered satisfaction in Jordan.
In 1992, a Jordanian court sentenced Chalabi to 22 years in prison for fraud and embezzling $288 million from Petra Bank, which he founded and ran until its collapse in 1989, and moving the funds into Swiss accounts. The bank’s collapse was a major blow to Jordan’s government, which had to bail out depositors to the tune of more than $400 million.
