Officials in Amman, Jordan filed corruption charges on February 7, 2019 against Jordanian individuals and firms alleging they produced fake cigarettes. The government says it cost the country hundreds of millions in lost revenues. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
AMMAN, Jordan – A former customs chief, an ex-minister and a top businessman in Jordan were among 29 suspects charged Thursday with corruption in a case involving fake cigarettes, a judicial source said.
More than a dozen companies and firms were also charged in the “tobacco case,” which media reports have said had cost Jordan’s treasury hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenues.
The suspects indicted by the prosecutor of the state security court, which is a military tribunal, include prominent businessman Awni Mutee, ex-customs chief Waddah al-Hamoud and former water minister Munir Oweis, in a 66-page indictment seen by AFP.
Several charges were leveled against 29 suspects and the companies implicated in the case, including abuse of power, bribery, smuggling and money laundering.
The Palace of Justice in Amman, capital of Jordan. (Wikimedia Commons)
They stand accused of “activity harmful to the security and well-being” of the public and of “endangering” society.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
Oweis and Hamoud were arrested in January, while Mutee, the main accused, was extradited from Turkey in December. Six suspects are on the run.
Security sources said last year that they had raided a factory south of Amman owned by Mutee where fake cigarettes were produced.
Advertisement
The raid came a month after angry demonstrations in Amman to denounce corruption, price rises and austerity measures.
King Abdullah II vowed in October that authorities would crack down on corruption.
We can't do this work alone.
The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident – ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded – I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.
There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.
As a Times of Israel reporter, I’m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit’s. But my colleagues and I can't do this alone. If you value work like this,please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
