AMMAN, Jordan (AP) – Iraq’s new president has asked Jordan’s king to help resolve a fraud conviction that has long hung over Ahmad Chalabi, the one-time Pentagon favourite who is now a deputy prime minister in Iraq.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said in newspaper remarks published yesterday that he asked King Abdullah II to resolve Jordan’s differences with Chalabi during a weekend meeting.

Chalabi, who was appointed a deputy prime minister in the Iraqi government that took office a week ago, was convicted in absentia in 1992 by a Jordanian military court of embezzlement, fraud and breach of trust after a bank he ran collapsed with about US$300 million in missing deposits.

Chalabi, who denies wrongdoing, was sentenced to 22 years in prison in Jordan but has served none.

Dropping the conviction is Jordan would be a major step in rehabilitating the controversial Chalabi. The former exile opposition leader was once close to the Pentagon but had a falling out over allegations he provided intelligence to Iran, damaging his position while the US dominated Iraqi politics.

But he staged a political comeback: He worked to build up a support among Iraqi Shiites, won election to parliament on the Shiite-led slate and was named to the deputy prime minister post.

Talabani, who visited Jordan over the weekend in his first trip abroad, said that Chalabi’s case figured high in talks with King Abdullah.

Under Jordanian law, Chalabi can be pardoned by a royal decree by Abdullah, the ultimate authority in Jordan, provided that the legal and financial aspects of the case are addressed.