Iraqi judge orders for arresting Ahmad and Salem Chalabi

An Iraqi inquiries judge issued a warrant of arrest to detain former member of the Iraqi governing council and the chairman of the Iraqi national congress Ahmad Chalabi and his nephew Salem Chalabi, the chairman of the court of the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein on the background of accusations addressed to the two men.

Judge Zuheir al-Maliki explained that Ahmad Chalabi will be interrogated in the accusations addressed to him of counterfeiting while his nephew Salem Chalabi face killing accusation.

The Iraqi judge added that the investigation sides will continue collecting evidences which so far reached enough materials to bring the two men to the court if evidences against them are enough.

The warrant of arrest against Ahmad Chalabi included accusing him of involving in counterfeiting the old Iraqi dinar after hiding huge amounts of it following the fall of the former Iraqi regime. The investigation judge accused Chalabi of changing the falsified sums he has by the new Iraqi dinars through the exchange offices scattered in the Iraqi streets. He explained that part of the fake Iraqi dinars and sums of the old dinars were found in Chalabi's house upon breaking into his house in May.

However, Salem Chalabi is accused of being involved in the assassination of the director of the Iraqi ministry of finance Haitham Fadali in June.

News reports said that the two men are not in Iraq for the time being, while Haidar al-Musawi, the spokesman for Chalabi said that members of the national congress only heard of arresting Chalabi and his nephew from the mass media.