Graft watchdog takes action against universities in Jordan

AMMAN — The Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission has placed under provisional seizure a large plot of land owned by a public university for suspicion of corruption, among other cases revealed on Monday.

A statement by the graft watchdog carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, explained that in 2001 the university conceded ownership of a 4,000 dunum plot of land to an IT company for $3 million, despite the fact that its market value was then estimated at $50 million.

The commission, which did not name the university, was only able to stop the sale of 3,000 dunums, because the first 1,000 were already registered in the name of the buyer and the transaction could not be reversed.

The investigation into the persons behind the deal is still open, the statement said.

Another major case involved a university that lost financial rights of more than JD3 million in a case the university had filed against a Lebanese construction company in 1999.

The university’s financial rights were extinguished due to time passage after the university failed to follow up on the case.

The commission has also taken legal action against public officials for involvement in corruption at the Social Security Department, the Income Tax Department and public shareholding companies.

In one case, officials at a local bank’s subsidiary are being sued for referring projects to build 23 branches of the bank to one specific construction contractor, not following the due procedures for such projects and causing the bank a loss of more than JD1 million.