US seeks to protect national security secrets in Saudi spy lawsuit in Canada

US officials are intervening in a Canadian lawsuit involving a former Saudi spymaster, documents show, a rare move in a complex legal battle that threatens to blow the lid on sensitive undercover work.

Saad Aljabri, a former Saudi intelligence czar exiled in Canada, is embroiled in a bitter royal feud between ousted former crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef (MbN) and current de facto ruler Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS).

Aljabri, long associated with covert Saudi-US counterterrorism operations, claimed last year in a sensational American lawsuit that in 2018 MbS sent a kill squad to assassinate him, while detaining two of his children.

In counter lawsuits in the US and Canada, a slew of Saudi-owned companies accused Aljabri of embezzling billions while working on covert operations under MbN, his former patron who is in detention after being deposed as heir to the throne in a 2017 palace coup.

The legal drama exposes the power plays within the secretive royal family.

But court documents show Washington is also in a bind as it seeks to protect national security secrets without jettisoning long-time ally Aljabri, who needs to produce the evidence of his intelligence collaboration to shore up his defence.

Washington could invoke the "state secrets privilege", which would allow it to resist a court-ordered disclosure of sensitive information in the US, legal experts say.

But the US has no such direct influence over Canadian courts.

In a letter to Aljabri's lawyer seen by AFP, the Justice Department's attorney urged him to "postpone all filings" before an Ontario court until 30 September to allow Washington time to consider measures to protect its interests.

"Matters involving foreign relations and national security of the United States... require 'delicate' and 'complex' judgements," government attorney Malcolm Ruby wrote in the letter dated 29 June.

While Washington had "no position" on the case, it was concerned by "the protection of sensitive national security information," he added.

Spilling secrets

The letter was copied to Elizabeth Richards, a counsel for Canada's Justice Department, "as a courtesy", suggesting the US is quietly coordinating with its Canadian counterparts.

Richards and Aljabri's lawyer did not respond to AFP requests for comment. Ruby redirected AFP's query to the US Justice Department, which declined to comment.

Ruby's letter said Aljabri's defence filings will automatically trigger provisions under "section 38 of the Canada Evidence Act", forcing his lawyers to redact sensitive information.

Legal experts say this provision prevents the disclosure of sensitive information or documents without the consent of Canada's attorney general or a court order.

"Canadian courts have never seen anything like this," said a Toronto-based lawyer familiar with the case, who asked to remain anonymous.

"While Section 38 might temporarily prevent the spilling of US national security secrets, it deprives Dr Aljabri from using evidence central to his defence," the lawyer told AFP.

Two lawsuits pitting Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler against a former intelligence czar threaten to expose highly sensitive US government secrets https://t.co/uJpM8Sbu7a

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) July 11, 2021

The lawsuits are by multiple companies, including Sakab Saudi Holding, which court filings say was established by MbN as part of a network of front companies to provide cover for clandestine US-Saudi counterterrorism operations.

In March, Sakab accused Aljabri of embezzling $3.47 billion while working at the Saudi interior ministry. It urged the Massachusetts court to freeze his $29 million worth of Boston property assets.

This came after multiple Saudi-owned companies including Sakab sued Aljabri in Canada on similar allegations. A Canadian court subsequently announced a worldwide freeze of Aljabri's assets.

'Nasty royal feud'

To prove his innocence, Aljabri says the courts would need to probe Sakab's finances, including how they were used to fund programs operated with the CIA, the US National Security Agency and the US Defense Department.

In US court filings in April, the Justice Department suggested it was keen for an out-of-court settlement.

But there are no indications the Saudi leadership is willing to settle.

"Aljabri is trying to use these legal avenues because he is stuck," a source close to the Saudi leadership told AFP.

"This is a last-ditch effort that I don't think will work" despite the risk of exposing secrets that "will embarrass the US", he added.

In a statement to AFP earlier this month, an official in Riyadh said the "Saudi government is not involved" in the lawsuits.

On Sunday, Human Rights Watch demanded the immediate release of Aljabri's two adult children, Sarah and Omar.

They were sentenced in November respectively to more than six, and nine years in prison. But HRW said the case was brought "solely to create leverage against their father".

Denying any financial wrongdoing, an Aljabri source has dismissed the allegations as "blind vendetta".

Washington is "jumping through legal hoops to protect its national security interests," the source said, adding the US would do better "brokering an out-of-court resolution to this nasty royal feud that entangled Dr Saad and his children".