Mohammad Al Dahabi found guilty of embezzlement and abuse of office and fined $30m.
Al Dahabi, right was accused of laundering and embezzlement during his 2005-2008 tenure as head of Jordanian intelligence [Al Jazeera]
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| Jordan's former intelligence chief has been given a 13-year prison sentence and a fine of $30m. Mohammad al Dahabi was found guilty of charges including embezzlement and abuse of office on Sunday.
The judge said the amount is estimated at $34 million. "You deserve the harshest punishment for being a traitor to the peoplevwho trusted you with a government position and state funds,'' Akhras told the ex-official. Al Dahabi was arrested in February, when inspectors from the Central Bank of Jordan suspected transactions worth millions of dollars had gone through his bank account. The rare case against such a high profile official is meant to show Jordan's seriousness in efforts to tackle graft and corruption a demand voiced in recent street protests. Al Jazeera's Nisreen el-Shamaylah, reporting from the capital Amman, says: "This is a significant trial. It shows the government is serious about fighting corruption. "Because of the massive protests, the King and [the] government have tried hard in fighting corruption." In 2003, Jordan sentenced another ex-intelligence chief to eight years in jail for forgery of state documents and abuse of office. Sameeh al-Batikhi was released after serving his prison term. |