AMMAN: The Jordanian Royal Court on Monday dismissed as “inaccurate” and “misleading” information about foreign bank accounts believed to belong to King Abdullah.
In a statement, the Royal Court said the reports included “inaccuracies and outdated and misleading information which has been used for the purpose of defaming Jordan and Her Majesty, as well as distorting the truth”.
The statement, seen by Arab News, came after a series of reports emerged in the international press based on data leaks from Credit Suisse, a leading Swiss bank.
Reports claimed that King Abdullah had six accounts with Credit Suisse, including one worth around $224 million.
The Royal Court said the total balance quoted in a number of reports is “inaccurate and exaggerated, due to significant double counting”.
The data, leaked to Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung, contains details of 18,000 bank accounts of prominent global figures, which were held from the 1940s to the 2010s, including by the sons of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Alaa and Gamal, who reportedly held a total of six accounts at various times, including one in 2003 worth $196 million.
“The majority of the sums in (King Abdullah’s) accounts relate to the sale of a large Airbus 340 aircraft for $212 million and its replacement with a smaller, less expensive Gulfstream aircraft. His Majesty had inherited two aircraft from His Majesty the late King Hussein, which have been sold with the resulting sum used to replace them more than once over the past 20 years, including the sale of the Airbus 340 and the purchase of the aircraft Gulfstream currently in use by Her Majesty,” the statement read.
The closed accounts, the Royal Court added, include an account with deposits inherited by King Abdullah from King Hussein.
Regarding an account belonging to Queen Rania of Jordan, the Royal Court said it was set up as a trust fund for the king’s children. The funds came from the king’s private fortune and the account was entrusted to the children’s mother, as they were minors at the time, the statement said.
In response to reports linking the monarch’s wealth to foreign aid, the Royal Court said that “the King’s private assets have always been independent of the Treasury and public funds”.
The Royal Court reaffirmed that all international aid to Jordan is “subject to professional audits and their allocations are fully accounted for by the government and donor entities, in accordance with cooperation agreements subject to the highest standards of governance. and control.
“Any allegations linking funds in these accounts to public funds or foreign aid are defamatory, baseless and deliberate attempts to misrepresent facts and systematically target Jordan’s reputation, as well as the credibility of His Majesty. Majesty, especially after similar reports released last year which were based on leaks from previous years.