Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Jordanian high-profile business tycoon Khalid Shaheen was freed from prison on Thursday, after concluding a 3-year jail sentence ordered by the State Security Court (SSC) in 2010 on charges of bribery and embezzlement in the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Co. expansion project scandal.

Shaheen spent his prison sentence between Salhoub and Ermeimin correctional facilities, in addition to 65 days he spent abroad in Britain and Germany in a controversial permit issued by the government in February 2011 for Shaheen to travel abroad to seek medical care.

Ermeimen prison administrator received a release note at 8:30 AM on Thursday, and Shaheen was released immediately, a security source told Ammon News.

Shaheen was convicted by the State Security Court in 2010 of bribery in the high-profile $1.2 billion contract scandal to expand the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Co. (JPRC), the country's sole oil refinery.

Shaheen served a 3-year prison sentence after being found guilty in 2010 of embezzlement and bribery in the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Co. expansion project, along with three other JPRC officials. He was also investigated in charges of embezzlement, fraud, and misuse of public funds in the two other projects managed by the Development and Investment Projects (DIP) which was entrusted with Jordan Armed Forces investment funds.

The JPRC-expansion corruption scandal was among the first in a series of trials in the framework of combatting endemic corruption in Jordanin the past three years, followed by the trial of prominent security, political, and economic figures, including the trial against former General Intelligence Department (GID) chief Mohammad Dahabi, the Dead Sea Casino deal, Mawared, and more recently the Phosphate company corruption investigations.

Shaheen faced legal and corruption charges in other mega-project cases as well. SSC began last year deliberating on cases referred to it by the Prime Minister, including the Disi Water Conveyance Project feasibility study, and the commission Shaheen received in financing the construction of the Armed Forces Central Command headquarters building, both projects for the armed forces-owned Development and Investment Projects (DIP) Fund.

Investigations into the cases revealed that the Fund sustained financial damages as a result of dealing with Shaheen.

The SSC reached a conciliation deal with Shaheen after months of negotiations, with Shaheen paying over half of the total amount repaid to the state treasury.