The legal war in “prince v. spy”

An international “he said he said” case is going on in court and the stakes are high.

Saad Aljabri, a former high-ranking Saudi intelligence official, says in court records that he was marked for murder by Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. In response, the Crown Prince claims that Aljabri misplaced or stole billions of dollars in Saudi money. Meanwhile, the US intelligence chief is concerned that the litigation will reveal American state secrets as the trial progresses.

There are three major lawsuits in this “prince against spy” fight, one in Canada and two in the US. Below is a brief guide to these lawsuits and some of their key documents.

Aljabri’s lawsuit against MBS

Aljabri first filed his lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC in August 2020. He updated the lawsuit in February with this amended complaint.

The lawsuit alleges that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent a team of killers to target Aljabri, Canada, and that the men involved – who are also listed as defendants – were intercepted and deported by authorities at Ottawa International Airport.

“Like the team that murdered Khashoggi, those who killed Dr. Saad, members of the defendant bin Salman’s personal mercenary group, the Tiger Squad, ”says the Aljabri complaint. “With two bags of forensic tools and with forensic personnel skilled in cleaning crime scenes … the Tiger Squad defendants attempted to enter Canada clandestinely, traveling on tourist visas and trying to stave off the discovery of Canadian border security by entering separate kiosks . “

According to the lawsuit, bin Salman prevented Aljabri’s daughter Sarah and son Omar from leaving Saudi Arabia, where they are now in jail. The lawsuit alleges that Aljabri’s son-in-law was released from Dubai, tortured in a Saudi prison and forced to sign a confession. Aljabri reported that he was arrested again after his release.

The file alleges that Saudi students were unsuccessfully used by the Saudi government to find Aljabri and his family in the United States

This attack on Aljabri and his family, the complaint states, is part of a larger pattern by bin Salman that includes creating his own hit team to silence opponents.

Part of the evidence contained in the complaint is a series of WhatsApp messages that allegedly came between Aljabri and bin Salman. Aljabri is demanding “punitive damages at an amount that will be determined in the process,” the lawsuit said.

Mohammed bin Salman’s motion to dismiss

Last December, the Crown Prince moved to dismiss the lawsuit against Aljabri. In it, he makes several arguments as to why Aljabri’s lawsuit should be dismissed, including allegations by Aljabri and staff of stealing or wasting $ 11 billion from the Saudi government’s anti-terrorist fund.

In addition to these theft allegations, the motion alleges that Aljabri has no standing before an American court and has not proven emotional distress or extrajudicial homicide because he is still alive. If pupils were used, so the request, no damage was caused.

After all, the motion states that bin Salman, as Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, is immune from legal action.

“The Crown Prince is the king’s son and designated successor,” the motion said. “Together with the king he sits at the head of the Saudi Arabian government. He is entitled to status-based immunity from all lawsuits in US courts. He is also entitled to behavior-based immunity because Aljabri’s claims stem from the Crown Prince’s alleged official. “

The judge in the case has not yet ruled on the dismissal motion.

Canadian lawsuit filed by Sakab Saudi Holding Company

Aljabri worked for Prince Mohammad bin Nayef, the former head of the Saudi secret service who led the fight against terrorism against al-Qaeda. Bin Nayef later became crown prince and heir to the throne until he was ousted and arrested by bin Salman in 2017.

Aljabri and bin Nayef once controlled the Sakab Saudi Holding Company. Sakab and its subsidiaries were founded on the orders of the Saudi king and were funded by the counter-terrorism budget, which would eventually run into the billions.

Aljabri has stated in other court records that the various companies Sakab controlled were essentially bogus companies – their real purpose was to conduct intelligence operations. These operations were often carried out in conjunction with the Central Intelligence Agency and other foreign intelligence agencies. Former high-ranking US intelligence agencies have confirmed this against 60 minutes.

After bin Salman replaced his cousin bin Nayef, Sakab was placed under the control of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and a new director was appointed. A lawsuit filed against Aljabri by Sakab in Canada said a series of financial audits revealed that approximately $ 3.5 billion was stolen from Sakab and its subsidiaries. This lawsuit shows that more than $ 1 billion went to bin Nayef and that Aljabri fraudulently stole nearly $ 500 million.

Sakab’s lawsuit alleges that Aljabri illegally continued Sakab and the various fronts, even after he was dismissed as Minister of State by Saudi King Salman in late 2015.

“The companies were used by a very senior government official of the Saudi Arabian government to work with his immediate family and close family and friends to stage an international scheme to defraud the plaintiff’s companies of billions of dollars and then segregate the funds went to offshore locations and got rich, his family and friends, “the complaint said.” He then fled to Canada and now, to divert attention from this massive theft, former Saudi Cabinet Minister Al Jabri has launched a public relations campaign including litigation against his former government to divert attention from his theft. “

The lawsuit was filed in Toronto, where Aljabri lives. On the day of filing, Sakab received two orders from the judge. One, known in Canada as Mareva Injunction, froze the fortunes of Aljabri and the other defendants, including his own family, worldwide. The second order, a Norwich order, requires third parties to hand over all documents and materials relating to the defendants.

Aljabri and his lawyers initially responded by appealing the orders of Mareva and Norwich. They argued that Aljabri was not a fraud and that the bin Salman case was staged to intimidate a political enemy

The actual case has yet to be heard, but the Canadian judge ruled against Aljabri, upholding her original orders to freeze his property, saying Sakab’s lawyers had produced more than enough evidence to justify the injunction.

US intelligence agencies step in

Sakab attorneys went to court in countries where Aljabri allegedly had interests and filed lawsuits in an attempt to enforce the Canadian order.

With Aljabri and his family owning eight condominiums in Boston, Sakab filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts State Court for inclusion in the Canadian judge’s asset freeze. Against the objections of Sakab’s attorneys, Aljabri’s attorneys successfully argued that the case should be transferred to a federal court.

That made it even more complicated.

Central to Aljabri’s defense against Sakab is his claim that various parts of Sakab are in fact front companies for Saudi intelligence agencies to conduct counter-terrorism operations against al-Qaeda, sometimes in conjunction with the United States. Aljabri’s lawyers argued that as part of his defense, he could potentially be forced to divulge top-secret information about CIA operations.

At this point the United States government carried out an extraordinary intervention. Avril Haines, director of the National Intelligence Service, made an affidavit in the Massachusetts case saying that she must invoke state secrecy to prevent the possible disclosure of classified information.

In the statement, Haines describes the classified information as “relating to the source, method, skills, activities or interests of the [U.S Intelligence Community], as well as information that could tend to reveal or disclose the identity of employees, affiliates or offices of the US government with whom one or more of the parties or the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia may have had certain interactions and disclosure of which would be harmful to the US national security interests. “

In response, Sakab said it was all about enforcing the Canadian injunction as the Toronto case progresses. The company’s lawyers in Massachusetts argue that Aljabri is trying to force the US case to be closed, citing state secrets. If the judge finds that Aljabri cannot provide an effective defense without the disclosure of classified information, the case could be dropped.

But instead of dismissing the case, the US government is demanding that all filings that might contain classified information be first reviewed by the Department of Justice and other agencies. The government says it has to decide what can or cannot be used.