The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan KC, is the subject of a second internal misconduct investigation, The Mail on Sunday reported, after allegations that he held improper discussions with a judge in a previous war-crimes case. The inquiry is separate from ongoing sexual-misconduct allegations against Khan that have already prompted an external probe by a United Nations-linked watchdog.
Court investigators in The Hague have interviewed at least five officials in recent months as part of the new probe, which the court’s investigatory body, the Independent Oversight Mechanism (IOM), is understood to be running, the newspaper reported. The inquiry centers on claims that Khan met privately with Judge Rosario Aitala and discussed evidence in the case against Maxime Mokom, a former Anti-Balaka militia leader, before Khan unexpectedly withdrew charges in October 2023.
The charges against Mokom, for which the ICC issued an arrest warrant in 2018, included murder, rape, extermination, deportation, torture, persecution, enforced disappearance and other inhumane acts. Mokom was surrendered by Chad and transferred to The Hague in March 2022; his charges were confirmed in January 2023 and were withdrawn by the prosecution in October of that year. At the time, Khan cited a lack of evidence and acknowledged the decision would be unwelcome to survivors and their families.
According to sources quoted by The Mail on Sunday, Khan’s alleged contacts with Judge Aitala were not disclosed to other judges on the panel and preceded his decision to withdraw the charges. One source told the newspaper that Khan had visited the judge’s office several times and that the withdrawals occurred against the advice of several lawyers. Another source described the matter as potentially broader than the sexual-misconduct allegations because it relates to the integrity of court cases.
Khan’s lawyers have denied the claims. They said suggestions that he held unauthorized conversations with a judge are "baseless" and that any assertion the Mokom withdrawal was driven by such discussions is false. Khan has also denied any sexual misconduct, calling the allegations "categorically untrue." An external investigation by a UN-linked watchdog has been reported to be examining multiple sexual-assault allegations, including claims of non-consensual acts during official travel; a second woman has since come forward to investigators, according to media reports.
The probe comes as Khan has faced additional scrutiny over other matters. Last month the ICC’s Appeals Chamber ordered him to step aside from the court’s Venezuela investigation on conflict-of-interest grounds because a member of Venezuela’s legal team is Khan’s sister-in-law. Khan’s lawyers have said he has been targeted by efforts to discredit him and damage his reputation, a campaign they linked to his role in seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant in May 2024.
A spokesman for the ICC said the court could not comment on an external independent investigation decided by the Assembly of States Parties and noted that the matter falls under the Assembly’s authority. The IOM and the Assembly did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.
The allegations, denials and pending investigations are likely to figure in ongoing debates about oversight, accountability and the independence of the ICC as it pursues high-profile cases. The court’s handling of the Mokom matter and the broader inquiries into Khan’s conduct will be watched closely by member states, victims’ representatives and defence teams as they assess the integrity of proceedings and the prosecutor’s ability to continue in his role.