TALES OF CORRUPTION CIRCULATE AROUND AMMAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 005784

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/2014
TAGS: PGOV KDEM JO
SUBJECT: TALES OF CORRUPTION CIRCULATE AROUND AMMAN

REF: AMMAN 5131

Classified By: DCM David M. Hale for reasons 1.5 (b) (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Amman is rife with rumors of high-level
manipulation and alleged official corruption, with stories of
a multi-million dollar theft of royal jewelry in shipment
from Europe and a multi-layered Kuwait oil deal that gives
Palace and GID slush funds -- not just the Treasury -- part
of the proceeds. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) The mingling of private ventures with public
business -- a Jordanian field sport -- has become a major
topic of conversation in Amman. The leaking and sale of
parts of the high school Tawjihi exam by officials in the
Ministry of Education (ref) demonstrated that even small fry
can get in on the act. More potently, the King (and Queen)
are under increased scrutiny, with private charges of
corruption -- or, at least, lavish spending and less than
proper accounting. Danish news organizations recently
reported the theft in transit of USD 2 million worth of
jewelry and silver that Queen Rania allegedly purchased in
Sweden. The local press has not yet picked up the story (and
probably never will),but the story fuels private commentary
on the Queen's out of control lifestyle.


3. (C) The most frequent gossip, however, has centered on
Jordan's recently leaked "secret" oil deal with Kuwait
(septel). Businessmen, academics, former ministers, and even
prominent MPs privately accuse the GOJ of structuring the
deal with Kuwait to provide a portion of the sale of Kuwaiti
oil directly into the Palace (and, in some versions, GID)
coffers, with only part going to the Treasury. One prominent
businessman (indirectly) blamed the King for this alleged
corruption, saying "King Hussein would never have done this."
The businessman continued by lamenting the existence of
several off-budget -- and therefore unaccountable -- pots of
money in the GOJ, including the Palace, GID, and Planning
Ministry. "The King and Queen do wonderful things for Jordan
abroad," he argued, "but need to be more careful of what they
do for us here at home."


4. (C) These are only the most credible of the recent
stories of perceived misdeeds making the rounds in Amman. It
may be that, following the transfer of authority in Iraq and
general acceptance of the state of the peace process,
Jordanians are having to look closer to home to find topics
of interest. Such grumbling here tends to be cyclical, and
we do not believe that it will have any meaningful political
impact. However, these stories reinforce prevailing
assumptions about corruption in high places and contribute to
a perception of a disconnect between the King and people.


5. (U) Baghdad minimize considered.

Visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at

http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/

or access the site through the State Department's SIPRNET
home page.
GNEHM