Labour director, officials arrested for alleged graft

AMMAN — The operation unit of the Jordan Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission (JIACC) on Wednesday arrested the former director of Ruseifa labour directorate and three other employees.

The arrest came as part of field visits conducted by the JIACC's personnel who are tasked with pursuing corruption at government agencies, an official source told the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

The director, who was not named, is suspected of issuing work permits for counterfeit business licences, according to Petra.

Regarding the three other employees, the source said they will be referred to a special prosecutor tasked with handling graft cases on Thursday for alleged fraud and public office abuse. 

The JIACC has followed up on the case of the directorate after it was recently targeted with an arson attack by anonymous persons, the source said.

It reiterated that the fire has not delayed the investigation as the JIACC already had copies of the documents provided by the Labour Ministry.

In Amman, the JIACC arrested two employees and confiscated a number of documents at the Greater Amman Municipality, Jubeiha, for violations related to fraud, bribery and office abuse.

The source stressed that the commission will deal firmly with such violations that harm investment.

The government has referred 30 cases of suspected corruption to the JIACC, including cases related to counterfeiting work permits, issued by several labour directorates.