Ahmad Chalabi, the former Iraqi exile leader, plans to file suit Wednesday in Washington accusing the government of Jordan of conspiring with Saddam Hussein to kill him and destroy his reputation as part of a 15-year smear campaign, court documents show.
Chalabi, 60, was convicted in absentia in Jordan in 1992 of embezzling from a Jordanian bank that had a U.S. subsidiary. He is being sought by the Iraqi government on counterfeiting charges. Chalabi denies any wrongdoing.
The 50-page complaint, to be filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, names as defendants the kingdom of Jordan; the Central Bank of Jordan; Mohammed Saeed El-Nabulsi, former director of Jordan’s Central Bank; and Mudhar Badran, a former Jordanian prime minister.
In seeking damages, the lawsuit accuses them of kidnapping, attempted murder, mail and wire fraud, fraud against a financial institution and obstructing justice, all stemming from what he claims was a false accusation and then a “show trial” that sentenced him to 22 years in prison in 1992.
Jordanian officials, who could not be immediately reached for comment, have insisted Chalabi is guilty.