Main defendant in ‘Tobacco Case’ sentenced to 20 years prison

AMMAN — The State Security Court on Wednesday sentenced Awni Mutee to 20 years in prison for endangering public safety and security in the so-called “tobacco case.”اضافة اعلان



The court found him innocent of money laundering and bribery. Bashar Awni Yousef was also convicted for endangering economic resources, according to Al-Ghad News.

Awni Mutee is the main defendant in the case.

The court found that the defendants had taken advantage of a government incentive meant to encourage investment in Jordan.

The court also found that defendants had planned to evade customs and use trademarks, endangering Jordanian economic resources. The court noted that the gravity of the damage done to Jordan's public treasury caused by the defendant’s organized scheme was unusual.

The court heard all of the prosecution’s evidence, with 141 prosecution witnesses and a large number of defense witnesses from the defendants and the companies involved in the case.

The case file contained 135 documents, ranging from investigative records to customs data to "inspection regulations."

According to the indictment previously filed by the public prosecution, the damage to the national economy amounted to some JD539 million.

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