FILE – Branding is displayed near the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Doha, Qatar, Thursday, March 31, 2022. Qatar’s ruling emir has lashed out at criticism of the country over its hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, complaining of an “unprecedented campaign” targeting the first Arab nation to hold the tournament. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, File)
A former CIA officer who spied on Qatar’s rivals to help the tiny Arab country land this year’s World Cup is now under FBI scrutiny and newly obtained documents show he offered clandestine services that went beyond soccer to try to influence U.S. policy, an Associated Press investigation found.
The monthslong FBI probe focuses on whether Kevin Chalker’s work for Qatar broke laws related to foreign lobbying, surveillance and exporting sensitive technologies and tradecraft, said two people with knowledge of the investigation who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss it.
Chalker’s goal, AP found, was to burnish Qatar’s image among American decision makers while undermining critics who have accused the Persian Gulf monarchy of financing terrorists and other wrongdoing. Federal investigators have focused increasing scrutiny in recent years on Qatar’s influence efforts, including those alleged to involve former U.S. national security officials.
AP’s reporting in the past year has detailed how Chalker and his company, Global Risk Advisors, sought to help Qatar host the 2022 World Cup by spying on soccer officials in rival countries. That included deploying a Facebook “honeypot” in which an attractive woman is used to lure a target, having someone pose as a photojournalist to keep tabs on one nation’s bid and, after the decision was announced in 2010, waging a failed two-year campaign to get a top German soccer official to soften his criticism of Qatar.
New AP reporting based on internal Global Risk Advisors records and interviews with Chalker’s associates shows much of his work in the years since has focused on seeking to strengthen Qatar’s influence in the U.S. That included attempting to set up high-level meetings between Qatari officials and top CIA leaders and pitching a sprawling covert influence operation to damage the reputations of U.S. officials perceived as Qatar’s enemies. The company even boasted in internal records of using spycraft to try and gather information on a congressman who sponsored legislation Qatar opposed.
Global Risk Advisors “has consistently protected Qatar by attacking the attackers,” the company said in one internal document.
Chalker’s lawyer, Kevin Carroll, said Global Risk Advisors had never engaged in any unlawful activity and was unaware of any federal investigation.
The FBI said it could neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation. Qatar did not respond to requests for comment.
Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
