Jordanian Prime Minister Ali Abu Ragheb has decided to establish a "higher committee" to fight corruption of all kinds, the official Petra news agency reported Sunday.
The task of the committee will be to "draw up a comprehensive plan to rectify various forms of financial and administrative corruption in the public and private sectors and to combat all abuses of power and nepotism," the agency said.
It will be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Fares Nabulsi and its members will include the head of the anti-corruption department of the Jordanian intelligence services.
King Abdullah II warned in February that corruption was a "red line" not to be crossed, and promised to punish severely all cases of embezzlement of public funds.
He asked Abu Ragheb's government, formed on June 19th, to follow such a policy.
Figures published in Jordan in February revealed that 1,034 cases of corruption, involving 541 people, had been discovered by the authorities since 1996, preventing the loss of about 85 million dollars from the public purse – AMMAN (AFP)
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