Saudi ex-spymaster Saad al-Jabri files new assassination complaint against MbS

The exiled former Saudi intelligence official accused the crown prince of trying to lure his daughter to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, days before Jamal Khashoggi's murder.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab Staff

06 February, 2021

Bin Salman reportedly tried to lure al-Jabri's daughter [Getty]

Former Saudi intelligence official Saad al-Jabri has raised new allegations against Mohammad bin Salman, accusing the Saudi Crown Prince of trying to lure his daughter to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, days before Jamal Khashoggi was killed there.

Al-Jabri's allegations were filed in a complaint to a federal court in Washington DC on Thursday. Saudi officials reportedly tried to get his daughter Hissah al-Muzaini to visit the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to renew her passport and then return to Saudi Arabia.

Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in October 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, after being lured there to obtain documents he needed to marry.

"If the allegations in this Complaint seem fantastical, that is only because it is difficult to fathom the depths of depravity of Defendant bin Salman and the men he empowered to carry out his will," read al-Jabri's complaint.

Last August, Al Jabri filed a lawsuit against bin Salman for sending team of mercenaries named the "Tiger Squad" to target him in Canada. The plot was foiled after the Saudi agents failed to get past Canadian border control, according to the court documents.

In the same month, al-Jabri tweeted that Saudi authorities had arrested his brother-in-law Salem al-Muzaini.

"The arrest is an obvious attempt to intimidate and blackmail my father," his son Khaled al-Jabri said.

Al Jabri has been exiled in Canada since 2017, after ousted Crown Prince Mohammad bin Nayef took his post. Al Jabri was considered bin Nayef’s key advisor, overseeing much of the Saudi kingdom’s intelligence operations.

Read also: US State Department 'considering MbS immunity request' in Al-Jabri lawsuit

The Wall Street Journal reported in January that Tahakom Investments, a subsidiary of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, had filed a lawsuit in a Canadian court against al-Jabri.

The Saudi firm accused al-Jabri of embezzling at least $3.5 billion worth of funds from Saudi Arabia.

Jabri denied the charges, while a campaign for his family said he "welcomes the opportunity to face off against MBS in neutral judicial forums".

Joe Biden promised during his presidential campaign to hold bin Salman accountable for the killing of Khashoggi.

The recently sworn-in Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told lawmakers last month that she would release a report naming the Saudi officials' involved in Khashoggi's killing.

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