A Dubai resident serving a prison sentence in Iraq over a contract dispute since 2021 is facing new charges of money laundering instead of being released from custody as expected this week.
Robert Pether, from Australia, and his Egyptian co-worker Khaled Radwan, who both lived in Dubai at the time, were jailed in August 2021 and fined $12 million after a contract dispute between his employer and the Iraqi authorities.
An official from the Supreme Judicial Council in Iraq said that Mr Pether is now charged with money laundering, which could lead to a prison sentence of more than 10 years. Mr Pether's wife, Desree, also told The National her husband's lawyer had seen the charges after being summoned to a court in Baghdad.
The family and legal counsel of Mr Pether were led to believe his initial prison term would have ended on January 8. Ms Pether said she believes authorities in Iraq have no intention of releasing her husband until the long-running dispute between his employer, CME Consulting, and the Central Bank of Iraq, which led to his initial arrest, is resolved.
“He is never going to get released,” Ms Pether told The National. “This time, they've came up with money laundering, even though international courts have ruled there is no ground for imprisonment.
“We found out that a new arrest warrant had been issued and for a new money laundering case [against Mr Pether]. Robert's lawyer has seen the charges, he went to the courthouse and they passed him the charges to read before taking the document back again.”
It is unclear at this stage if the additional charges of money laundering also apply to Mr Radwan. His wife told The National she had expected his release by now and does not understand why he is still in custody.
“My husband is still in jail and we don't know what's happening. I just want my husband back to his home and family,” said Amany Zarrouk.
The men were arrested in 2021 after travelling to Baghdad for what they thought was a routine business meeting. They were imprisoned on fraud charges.
“People close to Robert have been telling us that he was coming to the end of his incarceration and he was going to be released,” said Peter Griffin, a UK-based human rights lawyer who has been involved in assisting the families.
“We were all expecting that to happen a few days ago. Robert is now being held in the same prison but his status has changed to that of somebody detained pending money laundering charges, not what he was in jail for (initially).”
Pleas for release
Ms Pether has also been critical of what she sees as a lack of help from her husband's home country.
“They could and should have done more to prevent it from getting to this stage,” she said. “Nobody is standing up for Robert.”
The Australian government had issued a statement regarding Mr Pether's situation.
“We want to acknowledge the personal toll Mr Pether’s detention continues to take on him and his family. The Australian government has consistently advocated for Mr Pether, including for a pardon and early release on humanitarian grounds,” said a representative for the country's Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
“It is deeply concerning that Mr Pether, and his colleague Mr Radwan, remain detained, having served the custodial sentence imposed on them by the Iraqi courts. We call on Iraqi authorities to release Mr Pether and Mr Radhwan immediately.
“The Australian government will continue to support Mr Pether and his family and to advocate for his interests and well-being.”
More than 190 representations have been made by the Australian administration to authorities in Iraq for the release of Mr Pether. Both the country's prime minister and Ms Wong have raised the issue of his release with Iraq, most recently by Ms Wong in a call with her counterpart last month.
The Australian government advises that Australians “do not travel to Iraq” because of the volatile security situation, and the very high risk of violence, armed conflict, kidnapping and terrorist attacks.
Iraq has been designated as a “do not travel” destination by Australian authorities since 2000.
Ms Pether said she also contacted the UK embassy for help numerous times as her husband's mother is from London, however she said she was told it was solely a matter for the Australian government, given Mr Pether's citizenship status.
International pressure
Rulings by global bodies are in their favour. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued a report in 2022 describing Mr Pether’s imprisonment as “arbitrary and in contravention of international law”.
A ruling in 2023 by the International Chamber of Commerce's International Court of Arbitration said that the central bank was to blame for the contractual dispute. After the ICC's ruling in 2023, The National reported how CME issued a statement saying the costs incurred by the central bank could have been avoided.
“Mr Pether and Mr Radwan had only ever exemplified utter professionalism and respect for the central bank, Iraq and its people,” said a company representative. “Often dealing with challenging situations on the ground, their behaviour has always been of the highest standard.”
It was regrettable their lives, and those of their families, were forever changed, through no fault of their own, the representative said. CME has not responded to renewed requests from The National for comment.
Contractual dispute
Mr Pether and Mr Radwan were initially arrested in 2021 when they travelled to Iraq for what they thought was a routine business meeting.
Mr Pether was employed as an engineer in Dubai for CME, which was contracted to work on the central bank's headquarters on the banks of the Tigris River.
The men were detained at the meeting and have remained in custody since, having each received a five-year jail sentence and ordered to pay $12 million by the Iraqi court. The dispute was over a $33 million contract awarded to CME in 2015.
The project was put on hold a year later, with plummeting oil prices and Iraq’s war with the extremist group ISIS put forward as the main reasons.
Work resumed in 2018, with CME working for 39 of the 48 months as set out in the contract.
Payment was received for 32 of those months before being withheld.
CME was asked by the central bank to extend the contract by three months to make up for work that was suspended due to the onset of the pandemic.
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