Canadian newspaper "Globe and Mail" said yesterday that Saudi Arabia exerted pressure on Canada to return former Saudi intelligence officer Major General Saad al-Jabri, a refugee in Canada, while the anti-corruption committee formed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is close to charges of financial corruption for the former crown prince Prince Muhammad bin Nayef has been detained since last March.
The Canadian newspaper quoted its sources as saying that Riyadh tried to arrest Al-Jabri, 61, by issuing an arrest warrant against him in the International Police Service (Interpol) in September 2017.
Al-Jabri held a senior position in Saudi intelligence during the reign of the former crown prince, Muhammad bin Nayef, and he has lived in the Canadian city of Toronto since 2017, after the removal of Prince bin Nayef from the mandate of the covenant in favor of Muhammad bin Salman.
đź”´ Urgent
Canadian Globe and Mail newspaper: Again, # Saudi Arabia exerts pressure on # Canada to return the Saudi intelligence officer # Saad_Aljabri
The Saudi government had sent a delegation to Canada in 2018 to request his return to it
and issued an arrest warrant against him # Interpol @ nayfcon @ oamaz7https: // t.co/OS1CTOB0Rm
- Umra flower (@ rayha3nah_5) July 6, 2020
A delegation then requested and
added "Globe and Mail" that Riyadh sent a delegation to Canada in 2018 to demand the return of Al-Jabri, but her request was rejected, which prompted her to submit an official request in the fall of 2019 to return it.
The file of al-Jabri is one of the causes of the diplomatic tension between Riyadh and Ottawa, as the Saudi crown prince views the former intelligence officer as a threat to him by virtue of the information and files he had seen during his long years of operation in the kingdom’s cabinet, including sensitive information about the financial assets of members of the ruling family in Saudi Arabia. According to the Canadian newspaper.
The newspaper itself reported that a spokesman for the Canadian Ministry of Justice refused to comment on the issue of Saudi pressure to deport Jabri, saying that requests for deportation remain confidential matters between the authorities of the two countries, and that it is not possible to reveal the existence of a request to deport a certain person before it becomes public through the courts.
Globe and Mail said the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs had not responded to its request to clarify the merits of the Al-Jabri case.
Two weeks ago, the Saudi authorities had arrested two of al-Jabri's sons, in a move perhaps to pressure their father to return to the kingdom.
Dr.. Saad al-Faqih: Ibn Salman did not expect "Saad al-Jabri" to blow up the accusations leveled against Ibn Nayef of corruption # Saudi Arabia pic.twitter.com/2r4iY5WSSW
- Al-Hiwar Satellite Channel (@alhiwarchannel) July 6, 2020
Bin Nayef's accusation
In a related context, the Washington Post revealed yesterday, Saudi and American sources, saying that the Saudi Crown Prince's Anti-Corruption Committee is preparing to file charges of corruption and illegally seizing 15 billion dollars of the former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef.
The committee says that Muhammad bin Nayef illegally transferred these sums through fake companies and special accounts, but the American newspaper indicated that documents seen by those close to Bin Nayef showed that the accusations against him were false, and that they reported that the secret financial activities of the anti-terrorism programs had obtained The approval of the late King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, at least in its broad outlines.
The newspaper adds that in 2007 a royal decree was issued approving the activities of Muhammad bin Nayef as part of anti-terrorism programs, and for the detailed annual report on spending on these programs.
Royal Decree
The documents also state that the secret royal decree - issued on December 27, 2007 and showing the signature of King Abdullah - stipulates that the Assistant Minister of the Interior - who is Bin Nayef at the time - will be responsible for managing the fund and its expenditures in ways that support counter-terrorism efforts .
In 2007, Prince Bin Nayef held the position of Assistant Minister of the Interior, years before he assumed the position of Minister between 2012 and 2017.
In early May 2013, Mohammed bin Nayef submitted a report to the late King Abdullah summarizing secret spending on anti-terrorism programs for the same fiscal year, in which the prince requested royal approval for financial allocations of 5 billion Saudi riyals ($ 1.3 billion) to finance 8 projects.
Among these eight projects are "secret airports", for which an amount of 378 million riyals has been allocated, an amount of 1.6 billion riyals for "air transportation" services, and 1.5 billion riyals for security requirements such as weapons, and the king agreed to that as the document states. After 3 days of submitting the report, the Royal Court agreed to Bin Nayef's request to finance the mentioned projects.