Anti-graft body refers new cases to prosecution

AMMAN — The Jordan Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission (JIACC) has referred new cases of suspected graft to the prosecutor general's office, a JIACC source said on Monday.

The source told the Jordan News Agency, Petra, that one case involved JD2 million that was allocated for removing a berm at Al Wihdeh Dam. The berm was not uninstalled and the funds were not restored, he explained.

Another case involves a mayor and members of the Ajloun municipality council, who “illegitimately” used public money to travel to Turkey, the source added.

Several other cases that are related to municipalities included forging drilling licences, tender-related violations and endorsing real estate transactions without collecting due fees.

JIACC also referred a case of suspected graft in a deal to rent the Aqaba Visitors’ Centre’s restaurant to a contractor without observing due process. Another case involved persons who were dealing with expired medicines that were officially listed as destroyed.

In the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority, a case was investigated, when officials bought a mechanically unfit bulldozer for JD65,000, and spent an additional JD4,000 for maintenance, yet the vehicle remained unfunctional, according to the source. 

In July, JIACC completed the procedures to merge the ombudsman bureau and the anti-corruption commission into the new umbrella commission that had become the legal successor to both institutions as of June 15.

The commission, which is administratively and financially independent, is managed and supervised by a president and four board members, according to the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Law of 2015.