Iraq to arrest leading political figure

DUBAI - Iraq's interim defence minister said on Friday the government would arrest Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmad Chalabi after the Eid al-Adha holiday on suspicion of maligning the defence ministry.

"We will arrest him and hand him over to Interpol. We will arrest him based on facts that he wanted to malign the reputation of the defence ministry and defence minister," Hazim al-Shaalan told Al Jazeera television.

The satellite channel quoted Shaalan as saying Chalabi would be handed to Interpol over his conviction in absentia by a Jordanian court in 1992 of embezzling millions from Petra Bank, whose 1989 collapse shook Jordan's political and financial system.

Chalabi, who founded and ran the bank during a long period when he lived in the country, denies any wrongdoing.

"Our measures will start after Eid," Shalaan said. The Muslim feast began on January 20 and ends on Sunday in most Arab states.

Shaalan told London-based newspaper Asharq al-Awsat in remarks published on Friday he would order the arrest after Chalabi accused the defence minister in an interview of stealing $500 million ($718 million) from the ministry and posted documents on a website accusing Shaalan of links to Saddam Hussein's government.

Chalabi, a Shi'ite Muslim politician who is a contender to become Iraq's prime minister after January 30 elections, was not immediately available for comment.

A US-appointed judge issued a warrant for Chalabi's arrest last year on charges of counterfeiting money, but the charges were dropped in September.

Chalabi had brought together foes of Saddam, the former Iraqi president, under the umbrella of his Iraqi National Congress and spearheaded attempts by the US-appointed Governing Council to remove members of Saddam's Baath party from positions of power.

- REUTERS