Jordan's ex-spy chief pleads innocent to graft

Published November 20, 2014

A former Jordanian intelligence chief has pleaded "not guilty" to charges of money laundering, embezzling public funds and abuse of office.

Few details have been released on the accusations against Mohammed al-Dahabi, who ran the General Intelligence Department between 2005 and 2008. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years imprisonment.

He was arrested in February, when inspectors from the Central Bank of Jordan suspected transactions worth millions of dollars had gone through his bank account.

His lawyer Mahmoud Kilani says al-Dahabi entered his plea as the trial opened in Amman on Thursday.

The rare case against such a high profile official is meant to show Jordan's seriousness in efforts to tackle corruption __ one of the main demands by pro-democracy activists in street protests over the past 18 months.

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