Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - The Amman Criminal Court judge on Sunday sentenced former General Intelligence Department GID) chief Mohammad Dahabi to 13 years and 3 months in prison in the high-profile case brought against him on several corruption and graft charges.

The court also imposed a fine on Dahabi totaling JD 21 million, and seizing JD 24 million of his assets.

Dahabi was found guilty on charges of money laundering, embezzlement, exploitation of public office, and abusing his position as head of the intelligence agency for personal gain.

In its final statements last month, the prosecution had sought the maximum sentence for the former GID chief. Pursuant to Article 1/174 of the Penal Code, the prosecution argued that the defendant “must be convicted” of embezzlement.

Pursuant to articles 3 and 4 of the 2007 Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing law, and articles 2, 3, and 4 of the Economic Crimes Law, Dahabi was found guilty of money laundering, and guilty of exploitation of public office pursuant to article 175 of the penal code.

The defense team of Dahabi, who headed the GID between 2005 and 2008, responded with a not-guilty plea to charges of embezzlement, money laundering and exploitation of public office.

Dahabi was arrested on February 9, 2012, when inspectors from the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) suspected transactions worth millions of dinars had gone through his bank account.

He has been held in prison ever since pending investigation into the charges brought against him.

Numerous bail requests were submitted by the defense team but were rejected by the court.