Jordanian activist with interests across Middle East denies any role in deals

The Jordanian businessman named as George Galloway's man in Baghdad is a well-known political activist fiercely opposed to the US-led war with Iraq.

Fawaz Abdullah Zureikat, who has denied conducting any discussions with Iraq to secure lucrative deals for the British MP, lives in Amman but has interests across the Middle East. He is also a member of the National Mobilisation Committee for the Defence of Iraq (NMCDI), based in Jordan, and is a passionate opponent of sanctions on Iraq.

Mr Zureikat is from a wealthy family with land-owning and farming interests. According to his alleged Iraqi intelligence profile, the family was loyal to Saddam Hussein's Baath party and he himself was a "sympathiser with Iraq".

Mr Zureikat, 48, declined to comment about Saddam's regime, which had been supported by the NMCDI, but he said yesterday: "I am not a Baathist, I have never been a Baathist. I have never been with any political party. I am an Arab who felt sorry for Iraqi people against sanctions."

He said, however, that his brother was arrested in Syria in 1982 because of his political beliefs and he has not heard from him since.

In 2000, Mr Zureikat was part of a small group of anti-embargo campaigners, including Mr Galloway, who made the first flight to Baghdad from Britain in contravention of the air embargo. He was also behind the collection of academic books for Baghdad Library – an attempt to challenge the sanctions.

The businessman was held earlier this year by the Jordanian authorities in a sweep of pro-Saddam activists, although he denies he was arrested.

Born in Jordan, Mr Zureikat was educated in Baghdad and became an engineer. He worked with the Iraqi Oil Ministry and oil exploration companies. He runs Measi, an electronic chip distribution business, as well as other business operations in Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq. He also gave financial backing to the short-lived satellite broadcaster Arab Television, in London, run by Ron McKay, a Scottish journalist credited with arranging the interview between Saddam Hussein and Tony Benn. "I'm a businessman. My job is buying, selling and making money," he said.

Mr Zureikat, named in the documents as the Baghdad representative of the Mariam Appeal charity, run by Mr Galloway, said he was unclear how much he had contributed, but it may have been about £200,000. "I supported the campaign every time I had extra cash. I think it was the right thing to do, to attack sanctions that killed 1.6 million Iraqi people," he said.