Swiss bank leaks ‘inaccurate, misleading’, Jordan Royal Court says

Reports claiming that King Abdullah II opened secret bank accounts in Switzerland as the Arab Spring protests were setting off across the Middle East are “inaccurate, outdated and misleading” and aim to defame the king, the Royal Court said yesterday.

On Sunday, banking data leaked by an anonymous whistleblower to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung included details of the hidden wealth of Credit Suisse clients involved in torture, drug trafficking, money laundering, corruption and other serious crimes.

The leaked data contained details of 18,000 bank accounts including that of Jordan’s King Abdullah.

The data revealed that Jordan’s King Abdullah and his wife, Queen Rania, opened several accounts during a period of massive unrest in the Middle East following the 2011 popular uprising, which led to leaders being toppled in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen, and a brutal, protracted war breaking out in Syria. One account held by royals is said to have been worth some $244 million.

However, the Royal Hashemite Court issued a statement yesterday saying the majority of the sums listed in the accounts relate to the sale of a large Airbus 340 airplane for $212 million, and replacing it with a smaller, less costly Gulfstream aircraft.

READ: Ex-Egypt President Mubarak’s cronies had millions in Swiss bank, reveals Credit Suisse leak

“His Majesty had inherited two planes from His Majesty the late King Hussein, which were sold, with the resulting sum used to replace them more than once over the past 20 years, including the sale of the Airbus 340 and the purchase of the Gulfstream aircraft currently used by His Majesty,” the statement said.

“The closed accounts referenced in the reports include an account with deposits inherited by His Majesty from his father, the late King Hussein.”

As for the account established as a trust fund for His Majesty King Abdullah II’s children and opened under Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah’s name, the funds came from the King’s private wealth, and the account was entrusted to their mother, as they were minors at the time, the royal court added.

The statement stressed that the king’s private assets and wealth have always been independent from the treasury and public funds, and they are administered by the Privy Purse, which is a directorate that has been at the court for over 70 years.

It also stressed that all international assistance is subject to professional audits, and their allocations are fully accounted for by the government and donor entities, in accordance with cooperation agreements subject to the highest standards of governance and oversight.