‘JD125.384m investigated in corruption cases between 2009-2015’

AMMAN — Mohammad Allaf, chairman of the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission (IACC) on Sunday announced that the total amount mentioned in the reports of the Audit Bureau for the years 2009-2015 reached JD125.384 million, including JD45.793 million still under investigation.

During a press conference, Allaf said that JD2.335 million listed in the reports of the Audit Bureau were recovered, JD1.558 million of which were recovered through the IACC and JD777,000 through government departments.

Allaf added that 415 cases were included in the inquiries of the Audit Bureau channeled to the government by the House of Representatives to reach the Commission.

MP Saleh Armouti (Amman, 3rd District) said the current and former governments were to be blamed for the lack of swift and serious action in combating corruption in the Kingdom.

“I believe that efforts made by former lawmakers and governments came short when combating forms of corruption, this phenomenon is not new to Jordan and the reports of the Audit Bureau issued between 2009-2015 have shown a huge number of corruption cases,” Armouti told The Jordan Times.

“This negligible amount of retrieved corruption money does not fit the IACC standards, I think if cases were referred to the judiciary, results would be better,” Armouti concluded.

Deputy Mustafa Khasawneh, head of the Lower House Legal Committee, supported the role of the IACC and attributed the late response to the “lack of cadres at IACC compared to the huge number of cases and their procedural complexity”.

“The IACC is doing a very good job, taking into consideration that IACC still needs tremendous support. I am convinced that IACC had a huge role in closing down the phenomenon of corruption that has been spreading in state institutions,” Khasawneh told The Jordan Times.

Khasawneh also blamed the previous governments and former deputies stating that “the current Lower House was the only one that studied the Audit Bureau reports and referred cases to the general attorney through the government channel.”

“According to the Constitution, the Lower House does not have the authority to place accusations, but deputies do have the power to refer cases to the government and then to the attorney general,” he concluded.

The Audit Bureau is scheduled to present the Lower House, the government and the Senate with a new report during the ordinary session which will start on October 1.

Meanwhile, citizens express a more sceptical view regarding the fight against corruption.

An Amman taxi driver, who spoke under anonymity, told The Jordan Times that “we witness corruption at so many levels, whether they are low-ranking employees or top officials, there is always someone stealing from the state”.

“I do not believe anyone is trying to cut down on corruption but I still hope this trend comes to an end because it is only affecting the weak and the poor,” he added.