{"id":11438,"date":"2018-08-14T02:25:37","date_gmt":"2018-08-14T02:25:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=11438"},"modified":"2018-08-14T02:25:37","modified_gmt":"2018-08-14T02:25:37","slug":"jordan-seeks-to-break-backbone-of-corruption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=11438","title":{"rendered":"Jordan seeks to break backbone of corruption"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\nAMMAN: As a country with a budget depending mostly on loans and foreign assistance, and hosting millions of refugees, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan finds itself with no other option but to wage a war on corruption.<\/p>\n

\nWith every new government formed over the decades, combating corruption was the motto many Jordanian observers had not yet seen in action. A system of wasta among middlemen is common throughout the country and considered part of doing business, making transactions opaque and hindering competitiveness.<\/p>\n

\nCorruption is an obstacle for businesses operating or planning to invest in Jordan. However, the government\u2019s determination to eradicate it could be the magic potion to restore investors\u2019 confidence and start new businesses in a country with a population of 10 million, creating jobs for the hundreds of thousands of unemployed.<\/p>\n

\nOther obstacles include high levels of bureaucracy and vague regulations. Jordan\u2019s penal code criminalizes corruption, including abuse of office, bribery, money laundering and extortion, but the government has not implemented the law effectively. Corrupt public officials are not systematically punished and high-ranking civil servants are rarely prosecuted.<\/p>\n

\nA few weeks ago, Jordanian society was shocked by a multimillion-dollar corruption case and, since then, the story has been the subject of much social media attention.<\/p>\n

\nThe issue was triggered by two MPs, Nabil Gheishan and Musleh Tarawneh, during their deliberations on the newly formed government of Omar Razzaz\u2019s vote of confidence and policy statement in the Lower House. Both dared the government to reveal the issue and the names of those implicated, alleging that influential persons were behind the illegal business that has cost the Treasury more than JD155 million (more than $211 million).\"\"<\/p>\n

\nGheishan said in a phone interview with Arab News that the issue is a \u201cbombshell that exploded in the face of the government.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nThe amount of taxes and fees lost in the process at the time was estimated at JD155 million, he said. However, the legislator claimed that the estimated loss was reduced by JD5 million and four seized machines were returned to the factory, which \u201cresumed business as usual without the approval of the Department of Standards and Metrology.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nHe also demanded that the government track down all those implicated, even officials and members of security agencies, in case some were involved.<\/p>\n

\nThe government vowed to take action immediately. The authorities raided several tobacco farms in the Jordan Valley that have allegedly been producing counterfeit cigarettes for sale within the country, with profits of millions of dinars.<\/p>\n

\nAuthorities identified the main suspect involved in the case as businessman Awni Motee, who fled the country a day before police raided the farms.<\/p>\n

\nIn an interview with a local station, Motee claimed the police operation was a \u201cwar against him,\u201d and that his factories have been dormant since last year. He said that he would return to the Kingdom and prove his innocence.<\/p>\n

\nHe also threatened to sue all those who posted accusations against him in relation to the case, which erupted as a public opinion issue.<\/p>\n

\nBut at the time of publication of this report, this has not happened. Motee is at large and his whereabouts\u00a0 unknown. Jordan a few days ago contacted Interpol seeking its assistance in arresting him. According to documents the government shared with the media, Interpol has accepted Jordan\u2019s request and issued a red warrant for Motee\u2019s arrest.<\/p>\n

\nIn a related development, Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh, who was shown in photos with Motee, along with other lawmakers and during public events, condemned attempts to insert his name into the case.<\/p>\n

\nIn a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, the speaker said that the government \u201cis now responsible for investigating the case, identifying the persons involved and bringing back those who escaped.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe government has to find a solution to the misuse of social media outlets\u201d through baseless defamation attempts, Tarawneh said.<\/p>\n

\nOn a local TV talk show, Tarawneh said that the case involved very influential names.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIt all depends on the government\u2019s seriousness to eradicate corruption. If they mean it, big heads will roll,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a case like no other case. If you do no extract it from its roots, it will spread to the rest of the body and then it will be too late to do anything about it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\nMinister of State for Media Affairs Jumana Ghunaimat announced that arrest warrants had been issued for 30 suspects who are allegedly involved in the case of illegally producing and smuggling tobacco, of which 16 have already been arrested including Motee\u2019s two sons.<\/p>\n

\nGhunaimat, who is also the government spokesperson, stressed that the government had directed the customs department and relevant security apparatuses to arrest the suspects and issue travel bans against them, Petra reported.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWe are taking every measure to ensure vigilance and transparency and let our justice system run its course,\u201d Ghunaimat said.<\/p>\n

\nThe case was investigated last year as a tax evasion matter. The government of former prime minister Hani Al-Mulki allegedly knew about the factories and allowed them to continue operations. Al-Mulki stepped down following widespread protests in June.<\/p>\n

\nAfter his return from a month-long private vacation, King Abdullah II presided over a government meeting last week where he reiterated his support for the government\u2019s anti-corruption measures.<\/p>\n

\nEmphasizing that Jordan will overcome the challenges it faces, King Abdullah said that combating corruption was a key priority, expressing full support for the anti-graft efforts. \u201cThe goal is to eradicate corruption and move ahead. We have to break the backbone of corruption \u2026 no one is above the law,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\nOn his Facebook page, Tarawneh said that breaking the backbone of corruption involves bringing all individuals involved to justice no matter who they are. The backbone of corruption is those who are supporting it and the corrupt who operate without any accountability, he said.<\/p>\n

\nIn a related development, Mohammad Allaf, the head of Jordan\u2019s Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission (JIACC), said in a TV interview that investigations are ongoing and JIACC\u2019s prosecutors have summoned several officials and MPs to listen to their statements in the case.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWe have evidence that the prime suspect in the case received assistance from (people) within the country who facilitated his departure before the arrest campaign occurred,\u201d he said. However, Allaf stopped short of naming the insiders.<\/p>\n

\nThe prime minister said that he will not back down from going ahead with the trial of corrupt individuals and is ready to go as far as it takes. Razzaz insisted that he is going to open all files completely until all culprits involved are brought to justice.<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AMMAN: As a country with a budget depending mostly on loans and foreign assistance, and hosting millions of refugees, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan finds itself with no other option but to wage a war on corruption. With every new government formed over the decades, combating corruption was the motto many Jordanian observers had not…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":11439,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle_east_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}