Joran van der Sloot claims Natalee Holloway's mother 'tricked' him into FBI sting

Joran van der Sloot has made the bizarre accusation that Natalee Holloway's mother 'tricked' him into an FBI sting that led to his charge in connection with the unsolved murder case, DailyMail.com can reveal.

The convicted killer, who is currently in jail in Peru for an unrelated murder, is the prime suspect in Natalee's disappearance from the Caribbean island of Aruba in 2005, when she was 18.

The teenager was last seen leaving a nightclub with van der Sloot and two of his friends. Her body has never been found and she was declared legally dead in 2012.

Van der Sloot now faces extradition to the US on federal charges of extortion.

He is accused of promising to lead Natalee's family to her body in exchange for $250,000 in 2010.

Joran van der Sloot is the prime suspect in the unsolved murder case of Natalee Holloway

Van der Sloot is facing extradition to the US over extortion charges after allegedly promising to lead Natalee's family to her body in exchange for cash. But his attorney has now claimed it was Natalee's mother, Beth (pictured), who approached him offering cash

Natalee disappeared from the Caribbean island of Aruba in 2005 while on a high school trip 

A grand jury indicted him that year on one count each of wire fraud and extortion, each of which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

But his attorney, Maximo Altez, has now made the extraordinary accusation that it was actually Natalee's mother, Beth, who approached van der Sloot offering money if he took her to her daughter's body.

'Joran wants to be extradited because he's innocent of the charges,' Altez told DailyMail.com. 'He was living his life in Aruba and got a call from Beth Holloway, who tricked him.

'She said: "Joran, tell me where the body is and I'll give you $250,000." He never asked for money, she's the one that offered.

'She even gave him an advancement and he never asked for the rest. He only got $25,000.'

Altez explained that his client is a 'sick person' and 'compulsive gambler', who 'needed the money to play at the casino'.

He claimed Mrs Holloway 'took advantage of him'.

Outlining a somewhat confusing case for the defense, Altez said his client admits he made up the location of Natalee's body, adding: 'He [van der Sloot] says if he's guilty of anything, it's fraud. But in reality he's a sick person.'

But he later clarified that the Dutchman 'is innocent of the two charges [of wire fraud and extortion]'.

Natalee's body has never been found and she was declared legally dead in 2012 

Natalee is seen in casino security footage at a table with van der Sloot shortly before her disappearance

Aruba police are seen arresting suspect Joran van der Sloot in July 2005, before releasing him due to lack of evidence

The attorney said the killer originally asked him to appeal the extradition, but on Monday sent him a letter saying he wanted to go to the US to clear his name.

Mrs Holloway's lawyer, John Q. Kelly, declined to comment on the claims.

But they are likely to be seen as an insult to a bereaved family who have already been tormented by van der Sloot's ever changing explanation of Natalee's disappearance.

Under questioning, van der Sloot is said to have first claimed he dropped Natalee off at a hotel, before later stating he left her alone on a beach.

In his 2007 book, 'The Case of Natalee Holloway: My Own Story about her Disappearance on Aruba', van der Sloot admitted lying to police and apologized to the Holloways.

He wrote: 'I understand that my lies in the past seriously tarnished my credibility.'

He maintained his innocence, explaining that he had left an intoxicated Natalee on the beach, where he said she wanted to 'watch the stars'.

Prosecutors in the US allege that van der Sloot reached out to Mrs Holloway in 2010 asking for $25,000 to disclose the location of her daughter's body - and then a further $225,000 when the remains were discovered.

During a recorded sting operation, van der Sloot pointed to a house where he said Holloway was buried but, in later emails, admitted to lying about the location, an FBI agent said in an affidavit.

Later that year, van der Sloot was arrested in Peru for the murder of Stephany Flores, 21, who was killed five years to the day after Natalee's disappearance.

Peruvian prosecutors accused van der Sloot of killing Flores, a business student from a prominent family, to rob her after learning she had won money at the casino where the two met.

They said he killed her with 'ferocity' and 'cruelty,' beating then strangling her in his hotel room. He pleaded guilty in 2012.

van der Sloot is ditching his wife, Leidy Figueroa, 33, (pictured left in 2014 shortly after they married), because he is now in a relationship with Eva Pacohuanaco (right), who was accused of smuggling him drugs in jail in Peru 

It comes after DailyMail.com revealed van der Sloot is ditching his wife of eight years for a 'prettier and younger' girlfriend accused of smuggling him drugs in jail.

The killer married accountant Leidy Figueroa, 33, in a private ceremony at Piedras Gordas prison in July 2014, when Leidy was seven months pregnant with their daughter, Dusha.

But van der Sloot asked for a divorce around a year ago after beginning a relationship with Eva Pacohuanaco.

The 24-year-old Peruvian was accused of helping him smuggle nearly 300 grams of cocaine and 140 grams of marijuana into another jail in Juliaca, according to reports in Peru.

It landed the Dutchman an additional seven years on his sentence for the murder of Flores.

He is due for release in 2038.