Owners of pharmacy chain being investigated over money-laundering allegations

AMMAN — Owners of a pharmaceutical company who are facing money-laundering charges denied any wrong doing on Wednesday, saying all their transactions are “legal and official”.

The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Unit has recently finished investigating Dawacom Pharmaceutical Company (DPC) and referred its file to the Amman Prosecutor General Ghazi Huweimel, according to Fadi Sanjaqien, the spokesperson of DPC.

“The prosecutor froze our assets as he investigates the matter further,” Sanjaqien told The Jordan Times.

He added that the DPC was surprised by the allegation “that surfaced in January when the owner of the company was summoned by the authorities over allegations that he received JD7 million in transfers”.

“The authorities visited our offices and they did not find any wrongdoing, and all our documents were proper and legal,” Sanjaqien claimed.

But last week, the company’s spokesperson added, “We were surprised to learn via the press that we are being investigated by the for money laundering.”

“Our assets are frozen and around 200 warehouses are not dealing with our 102 pharmacies in the Kingdom because of the allegations. Some 600 employees are affected by this decision because we are unable to pay JD300,000 in monthly salaries due to the asset freeze,” Sanjaqien explained.

He added that the company’s lawyer, Mohammad Hatim, is following up on the case.

“We are certain of our innocence and we will fight to prove it in the court,” Sanjaqien stressed.

Officials at the anti-money laundering unit contacted by The Jordan Times refused to comment on the case saying, “it is currently in the judiciary’s hands.”

The unit, which is affiliated with the Central Bank of Jordan, was established pursuant to the 2007 Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Law, as a financially and administratively independent unit, according to its website.

The unit receives notifications in relation to any transaction suspected to be related to money laundering or terrorist financing, analyses and investigates such allegations and provides the authorities with such information, when necessary.