Memo filed with Interpol to help extradite Kurdi

AMMAN — The Cabinet decided on Tuesday to task Justice Minister Awad Abu Jarad to continue legal procedures taken for the extradition of fugitive former chairman of Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC), Walid Kurdi.

Kurdi has been convicted and sentenced in corruption cases related  to JPMC, and to duly collect the financial dues the court had ordered him to pay, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

At its session, chaired by Prime Minister Hani Mulki, the Council of Ministers instructed Abu Jarad to use all the legal options available in coordination with the Attorney General Office, to issue an international all points bulletin and a Red Notice for Kurdi through the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL), which is, according to the Interpol’s website, a request to locate and provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition. 

The minister was also tasked to file the necessary requests for legal assistance to ensure that the financial dues are paid in full.

Abu Jarad told Petra later that the attorney general already sent the request to Jordan’s Interpol, which will be forwarding it to the international headquarters in Paris.

The council also instructed Abu Jarad to address the interior minister of the UK, in his capacity as his counterpart as identified in the mutual legal assistance agreement in criminal matters between Jordan and the UK, to facilitate the arrest and extradition of Kurdi and the confiscation of financial assets in accordance with the diplomatic norms that apply to such cases.

The minister said after the meeting that he would send a letter to the British minister with a request to facilitate the legal procedures that lead to the apprehension of Kurdi.

During the Cabinet meeting, the minister gave a briefing on the legal action already taken against Kurdi within the available legal options.

Abu Jarad explained that the Public Prosecution Department had already filed requests with several countries, including the UK, Austria, the United Arab Emirates, British islands and India, to identify all movable and immovable assets that belong to the convict. As a result, concerned authorities in the UK were approached and Kurdi’s funds were frozen. 

Abu Jarad pointed out that in March 2014, a representative of Kurdi offered a settlement in accordance with the provisions of the Economic Crimes Law. The negotiations over the settlement continued for two years but did not result in any deal and were therefore halted permanently, prompting further legal action, the official told the council.

In 2013, the Amman Criminal Court sentenced the former JPMC chief to twenty-two and a half years and fined him over JD253 million in the high-profile corruption case.