Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Former Prime Minister Marouf al Bakhit appeared before Amman Public Prosecutor on Wednesday to testify in the high-profile Dead Sea Casino case.


The high-profile corruption case dates back to 2007 during Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit's first term (2005-2007) when the government authorized the building of a casino on the eastern shores of the Dead Sea by a London-based investor. The deal was later renegotiated and annulled by Prime Minister Nader Dahabi's government, saving the Jordanian treasury over $ 1.4 billion in fines.

The parliament voted to acquit ex-Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit of implication in the casino corruption case back in June 2011, while Bakhit was heading his second government.

Bakhit's acquittal stirred major controversy, especially as the same parliament voted to indict former Minister of Tourism Osama Dabbas in the case, after a parliamentary ad-hoc committee that investigated the defunct Dead Sea casino deal referred 33 former officials, including 21 ministers, to the House for deliberation on possible indictment.