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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Minister of Interior Samir Mubaideen on Tuesday said recent armed robberies on some banks in Amman are worrying and warned that the reoccurrence of such incidents threaten to inflict damage to the state's prestige.

The minister made the remarks as he, the directors of security agencies, the governor of the central bank and banking officials met to look into ways of finding an end to a spate of unusual armed robberies some of the capital's banks saw since the start of the current year.

The meeting came a day before an armed man robbed a bank in the northern Amman town of Sweileh at gunpoint before he was apprehended by security forces. Today's incident brings to six the number of armed robberies targeting Amman's banks since the beginning of 2018. In five incidents, the robbers were arrested and the cash stolen was retrieved but one robber remains at large.

The minister said such robberies could not be branded as a security breach because police support and assist bank in bolstering their security. However, the minister blamed some banks for failing to abide by a security plan devised by the ministry and banking sector's stakeholders.

He indicated that the central bank governor sent new instructions to local banks ordering them to link their on-site security alarm and CCTV systems with police command and control centers, install electronic gates and employ security guards in all branches.

The meeting was also attended by Director of the Public Security Department (PSD), Major-General Fadel Al-Hamoud, Director General of the Gendarmerie Department, Major General Hussein Al-Hawatmeh, Chairman of Association of Banks in Jordan, Hani Al-Qadi and a number of concerned officials.