Jordan Times
Monday, October 9, 2006
House to refer corruption case to investigation panel
By Mahmoud Al Abed
AMMAN — The Lower House will refer an alleged corruption case involving a former minister to an in-house investigation panel, and if this committee builds a case against the official the case will be referred to the House for an impeachment bill.
In statements to the Jordan News Agency, Petra, House Speaker Abdul Hadi Majali said the case against former municipal affairs minister Abdul Razzaq Tbeishat, who was also a deputy prime minister, will be discussed during the ordinary session of Parliament in December. The ex-minister is suspected of abuse of office that involves financial and administrative corruption.
According to the Constitution, Tbeishat cannot be tried in regular court because he was a serving minister when the alleged felony took place.
Four other persons implicated in the case were charged by the Amman prosecutor general and referred to court. They were identified as General Manager of the Cities and Villages Development Bank Ibrahim Mohammad Nsour, Ziyad Abdul Qader Assaf, Kamaluddin Thib Ammoura and Fawzi Abdullah Kofahi in a statement issued by Government Spokesperson Nasser Judeh on Saturday.
Majali, who said the parliamentary committee might find sufficient evidence against the minister, indicated that the case was first brought to the attention of the House in 2002. The chamber of deputies referred it to the Audit Bureau, which included it in its report that is routinely forwarded to the Lower House Administrative Committee.
The committee, in turn, discussed the bureau’s report and decided to forward the case to the prosecutor’s office, a decision that received the go-ahead from the House.
Now the case is back at the Lower House, forwarded by Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit after he received a letter from the Ministry of Justice detailing the findings of the prosecutor’s investigations.
In statements to the press after the report was publicised, Tbeishat dismissed the allegations as “unjust, inaccurate and not objective.”
The case involves a 2002 purchase of loaders and garbage pressers for the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. The Audit Bureau’s report revealed that the machinery, which was brought from Germany, was faulty and not worth the sum paid for it. It charged that the chassis numbers of loaders were fraudulently changed.
After an impeachment bill is passed by a majority of two-thirds of the Lower House, the Constitution stipulates that “ministers shall be tried by a high tribunal for offences which may be attributed to them in the course of the performance of their duties.”
The high tribunal is presided over by the Senate president and comprises eight members — the Senate selects three from amongst its members through a ballot, while the other five are judges from the Cassation Court, the highest civil court. They may also include judges from other civil courts.
If found guilty, Tbeishat will be subject to the provisions of the Penal Code.