UN calls for release of jailed ‘Maltese’ Saudis

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has called on Saudi Arabia to immediately release two naturalised Maltese and Saudi nationals, the jailed adult children and son-in-law of former top Saudi spymaster Saad al Jabri, who lives in exile in Canada. 

Omar and Sarah al Jabri were prevented from leaving Saudi Arabia to join their father, also a Maltese national, and were instead charged for money laundering and conspiracy to escape the kingdom unlawfully. They denied the charges. Omar was sentenced to nine years’ jail while his sister received a six-year-and-a-half jail term. 

Also arrested was Al Jabri’s son-in-law Salem Almuzaini, who was detained in Dubai and then flown to Saudi Arabia. 

The United Nations said Saudi Arabia should release Al Jabri’s children and Almuzaini immediately and unconditionally. It also called on the United Arab Emirates to compensate and provide reparations to Almuzaini for his detention. 

Omar and Sarah al Jabri are being held in a Saudi jail. They are also Maltese citizens (Photo: Twitter)

Saudi Arabia’s former spymaster, now a naturalised Maltese citizen, has been accused of embezzling billions of dollars by State-owned companies of Saudi Arabia. 

But Saad al Jabri, 61, has accused Saudi ruler Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, or MBS, of plotting to assassinate him. 

Al Jabri fled the kingdom fearing for his life, after having acted as top aide of Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, known as MBN, who was removed as crown prince in 2017 by King Salman in favour of his son, Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS. MBN was once one of the most influential members of the Saudi ruling family and a trusted American ally known for his role in helping combat Al Qaeda. His dismissal capped the rapid rise to power by his younger cousin, Mohammed bin Salman. 

Al Jabri, a former major-general and minister of state, spent years at MBN’s side and is credited by the Americans with helping stop terrorist attacks on Western targets. He has been living in exile in Canada since May 2017, having acquired Maltese citizenship in 2016 through the Individual Investor Programme. 

Tahakom Investments, a subsidiary of the Saudi sovereign-wealth fund, filed a Canadian civil suit alleging Al Jabri received $55 million in bribes. But Al Jabri’s family says the Saudi government is pursuing him because he knows the secrets of the royal family, including details about MBS’s personal life, how he has received and spent money since joining the line of succession, and what he has done to achieve power. 

In the United States, another court dismissed a similar lawsuit after a rarely-used US government intervention to stop the release of classified information that prevented the case from proceeding. 

Saudi hunt for spymaster plays out in Maltese courts

The Saudi Arabian government’s hunt for its former spymaster, is also taking place in Malta, with a request to prevent the sale of a Sliema apartment owned by Al Jabri. In the Maltese court case, the Saudi-registered Sakab Saudi Holding Company is trying to stop Al Jabri and his Cayman Islands company Ten Leaves Management, from selling a Tigné Point apartment. 

Sakab, part of a group of 17 companies set up by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, claims Al Jabri used offshore structures to distribute €6 billion in funds to other commercial entities between 2008 and 2017, funnelled to other members of the Sakab group, allegedly on Jabri’s instructions. Jabri denies the allegation. 

But Sakab is part of a network of front companies used for clandestine security operations with the United States. 

Al Jabri also alleged in a 2020 U.S. lawsuit that Canadian authorities foiled a plot to kill him by a “hit squad” sent by MbS, less than two weeks after the October 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. 

Riyadh denies Jabri’s allegation and MBS’s involvement in Kashoggi’s murder.

Biden Saudi visit 

Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia and meeting with its de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman was described as “the equivalent of a presidential pardon for murder”, according to Khalid Al Jabri, the son of Saad Al Jabri. 

The US president once vowed to make Saudi Arabia “a pariah” after the death of Jamal Kashoggi, the Washington Post columnist whose 2018 murder was ordered, according to US intelligence. 

“Biden [has] made it clear that there won’t be any direct consequences for MBS for murdering Khashoggi. Unfortunately, [the visit] is the equivalent of a presidential pardon for murder, and MBS would perceive it as the Biden-issued license to kill more Khashoggis,” Al Jabri said.