JORDAN'S PROSECUTOR GENERAL: RESPONSES TO JUDICIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 005953 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/06/2026 TAGS: EFIN KTFN PGOV SNAR PINR PREL JO SUBJECT: JORDAN'S PROSECUTOR GENERAL: RESPONSES TO JUDICIAL COOPERATION REQUESTS FOR FINANCIAL INFORMATION EXPECTED SOON REF: AMMAN 4337 Classified By: Ambassador David Hale, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Jordan's senior Prosecutor General told emboffs that the GoJ will assist in all judicial cooperation cases requested by the U.S. related to terrorism and narcotics because of Jordan's commitments to international agreements. One case was complete, and will be relayed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs "within two days" and could then be passed to the USG. The Prosecutor General wants all cases handled expeditiously, and said that the entire process for all pending requests should be completed within a month and a half. Requests in areas other than terrorism and narcotics will be handled on a case-by-case basis, but due to the lack of Jordan's accession to international agreements in those areas, the country's bank secrecy laws will likely prevent the relay of the information requested. Any future U.S. requests for financial information will be referred immediately to the Prosecutor General's office for expedited handling. In a separate meeting, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank said that the information requested from five of the banks had been completed. The remaining banks will be completed shortly. Progress in reaching the end of this lengthy process comes after intensive engagement over the past six months by the Ambassador and staff at senior levels of the Jordanian government. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Jordan's Senior Prosecutor General, Naji Zu'bi, met on August 6 with Ecouns, Legatt, and Treasatt to discuss the current status of USG requests for judicial cooperation dating back to 2004. NOTE: Zu'bi is the government's legal representative on the inter-ministerial committee chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to handle these judicial requests. His role is to provide the legal authority to release the requested bank account information to the USG for use in courts of law, thereby overcoming restrictions imposed by the country's bank secrecy laws. END NOTE. Zu'bi said that based on Jordan's international commitments in the areas of countering terrorism financing and narcotics, he had decided the GoJ will cooperate on all of the cases involving those two areas. He referred to several of the embassy's diplomatic notes, some dating back to 2004, and said that all the available information requested in these notes for terrorism and narcotics cases would be provided. ¶3. (C) Other cases-such as those relating to fraud, bankruptcy or other areas-would be handled on a case-by-case basis. However, Jordan had made no commitments to international agreements in these areas. As a result, Zu'bi doubted whether most of the information requested in these cases could be released to the USG because of Jordan's strict bank secrecy laws. NOTE: This position had been relayed to the Embassy several weeks earlier. END NOTE. ¶4. (C) When told of the high interest in the cases in Washington and of the need for faster responses to the USG requests, Zu'bi agreed that the GoJ response had been slow. However, once the cases had been presented to his office, he had moved quickly. Zu'bi charged one of his Prosecutors General with overseeing the investigations into all the cases. In one case alone, that of the Safa Group, this involved investigating eight separate banks holding the accounts requested. The investigation into one particular request dating back to August 2004 had just been completed and he will be relaying the case to the Justice Minister for further relay to the Minister of Foreign Affairs "within two days." ¶5. (C) Regarding the response to the Safa Group case requested in April 2006, Zu'bi expects the investigation to conclude within "a very short period." He said he ordered the prosecutor general handling the case to give it top priority. When asked whether he would be willing to relay a portion of the information requested in the Safa Group case, he said he preferred to handle the case as a package. ¶6. (C) Zu'bi said he expects all cases to be completed within a month, or a month and a half at the latest. Henceforth, any case from the USG requesting similar information will be relayed immediately to his office for expedited handling. ¶7. (C) In an August 1 meeting, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) Faris Sharaf told Ecouns, Legatt and Treasatt that CBJ auditors had completed the investigations of five of the seven banks involved in gathering the information requested by the USG. Most of the information still outstanding involves data from 2000 and earlier, which must be retrieved from warehouses where it is archived. ¶8. (C) COMMENT: It appears that this very slow process is nearly complete. It also appears that the Prosecutor General has taken the need for full resolution of these cases fully on board, after months of inaction by the inter-ministerial committee. The light at the end of this tunnel comes after intensive engagement at the highest levels of the Jordanian government. The Embassy will continue to pressure the GoJ to deliver until all requested information is accounted for. ¶9. (C) BIO NOTE: Zu'bi has been in his position since June ¶2004. He serves as the Prosecutor General for the central area of Jordan. Since this includes the capital and its suburbs, his office handles nearly 90% of the legal workload for the country. He is from Ramtha in the north of Jordan, received his legal training in Rabat, Morocco, and prides himself on having done so with his own funds. He has never traveled to the U.S. and has minimal English. He comes from a large family, and has brothers working in the research department of the CBJ. Hale