Jordan court sentences King Abdullah II’s uncle to 18 years in prison for corruption

On Wednesday, April 27, a Jordanian court sentenced King Abdullah II’s uncle in absentia to 18 years in prison in a corruption case. This was reported by a judicial official.

«A criminal court in Amman has sentenced Walid al-Kurdi, the former CEO of a phosphate mining company, to 18 years in prison and a fine of 190 million Jordanian dinars (about 268 million US dollars)», – a spokesman told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Walid al-Kurdi, who has been on the run in the United Kingdom for several years, is the husband of Princess Basma, Abdullah II’s paternal aunt. The former director of Jordanian Phosphate Mining Company (JPMC), one of the largest suppliers in the world, has already been sentenced in absentia to 37 years in prison in several separate corruption cases since 2013, and his assets have been frozen.

In this new trial, Walid al-Kurdi was tried for abuse of power and corruption when he was chairman of the JPMC board. The fight against corruption is one of the main demands of Jordanians, who regularly take to the streets demanding reforms.

It should be noted that this is not the first major trial in court against relatives of the royal family and major statesmen. So, about a year ago, ex-Finance Minister Bassem Awadallah and a member of the royal family, Sherif Hassan bin Zayed, were found guilty of attempting to «undermine the security and stability of Jordanian society and inciting rebellion against the royal regime».