UK assistance sought in Kurdi case

AMMAN — Justice Minister Awad Abu Jarad on Wednesday sent an official letter to the British Interior Minister to facilitate the arrest and extradition of Walid Kurdi, a former chairman of the Jordan Phosphates Mining Company (JPMC) who has been convicted of corruption. 

At its session Tuesday, chaired by Prime Minister Hani Mulki, the Cabinet 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, who was tried in absentia and has been at large for four years, 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 was due to forward it to the international headquarters in Paris yesterday.

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 in such cases.

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.