Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - The Amman Criminal Court on Wednesday sentenced the former chairman of the Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC) to twenty two and a half years and fined him over JD 253 million in the high profile corruption case.

The court, headed by Judge Saad Al-Lozi, also sentenced Walid Kurdi to an additional 15 years in prison, and imposed a fine of JD 31 million on charges related to Phosphate shipping contracts allegedly made by the defendant.

Kurdi is being tried in absentia and was indicted with ten counts of "abuse of office" and embezzlement charges allegedly to have taken place during his term in the company from 2008 until 2012.

After issuing the sentence, with a total of 37.5 years and over JD 280 million in fines, the court clarified that Kurdi would have a retrial if he turned himself in.

Kurdi, who was the CEO of the JPMC until late 2012, reportedly left Jordan to London in January 2012 and has not returned to Jordan since.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) seized Kurdi's assets in December 2012. Kurdi reportedly refused to appear before a parliamentary probe committee back in February 2012 in part of a probe into corruption charges in the sale and privatization of the company in 2006.

Kurdi submitted his resignation on march 17, 2013 from his position as CEO of the public joint stock corporation.

During the trial, the Anti-Corruption Commission's prosecutor general called on the Amman Criminal Court to impose the maximum penalty possible on Kurdi, totaling over JD 340 million, of which he is being charged of embezzling, in addition to administrative and judicial expenses.

The fines reportedly equals the amount of losses incurred by JPMC as a result of Kurdi's actions during his term in the public shareholding company.