A witness statement submitted to the FBI alleges that intermediaries linked to Qatar told International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan they would “look after” him if he moved forward with arrest warrants connected to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The allegation, reported by The Wall Street Journal, is disputed by Khan’s lawyers and by Qatar, which have both rejected any suggestion of improper contact or influence.
A witness statement submitted to the FBI alleges that people described as acting on behalf of Qatar sought to reassure International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan as he weighed whether to pursue arrest warrants connected to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal.
The Journal reported that investigators reviewed audio recordings in which Khan is quoted as saying:
“I want to issue the warrant, but I’m terrified to do it.”
In the same account, a voice described as linked to the Qatari state allegedly replied:
“If you do it, then we’ll look after you.”
The Journal also reported that people involved in the exchanges used coded language about their employer—referring to a “client country” or “Q country”—with one person clarifying: “No, it’s the state.”
Khan has faced separate scrutiny over allegations of sexual misconduct made by a subordinate. In May 2025, the ICC said Khan would take leave pending a United Nations-led investigation into the allegations, which he has denied.
Khan’s legal team has rejected the Journal’s account of the Qatar allegation, saying he did not discuss any warrant decisions with Qatari officials in advance and disputing the suggestion that any promise of protection was offered or sought. Qatar has also dismissed the allegation.
Separately, a Qatar-linked private intelligence operation targeted the woman who accused Khan of misconduct, according to a Guardian investigation published in November 2025. The Guardian reported that London-based firms Highgate and Elicius Intelligence gathered sensitive personal information about the accuser and sought material that could tie her to Israel or Israeli intelligence—an effort the paper said did not produce evidence of such links. The Guardian reported that those involved described the client in coded terms such as “Q country,” and that Qatar later issued a statement dismissing “unfounded allegations” relating to the case.
The Guardian report said the operation also sought information about other ICC officials involved in the court’s response to the complaint, and raised questions about whether people close to Khan had contact with the firms, though the Guardian said it had seen no evidence that Khan himself directed the operation. Highgate confirmed to the Guardian that it worked on an ICC-related project but denied acting against any individual and denied being commissioned by Qatar.
The ICC’s oversight body, the Assembly of States Parties, has been considering how to proceed following the UN watchdog’s fact-finding work and subsequent legal assessments referenced in media reports, with the process described by the Assembly’s leadership as ongoing and confidential.
