Business Corruption

The process and selection of awarding public work contracts and private-public initiatives is determined less by merit and more by connections and political necessities. A centralised tendering office displaying government tenders and relevant legislation can be accessed online and tenders are publicised, but the process of deliberation and criteria lacks transparency. There have been reports of the use of wasta regarding procurement. In general, the use of family and business connections to advance personal business interests is very widespread.

In 2010, former Finance Minister Adel Al-Qadah, wealthy businessman Khaled Shaheen, the Prime Minister´s economic adviser Mohammed Al-Rawashdeh, and former petroleum official Ahmed Al-Rifai were arrested over allegations of bribery and abuse of office in the contracting of Jordan´s petroleum refinery. A March 2010 article in Reuters writes that illegal means were employed in order to attract strategic allies to invest in the expansion of Jordan´s sole petroleum refinery; a project that was estimated at a cost of USD 1.2 million. Legal sources in the same report state that officials received bribes for the sake of slowing the process of procurement so that competitors were forced to withdraw.

Read more about public procurement under the 'Public Anti-Corruption Initiatives' in the Initiatives section.

Political Corruption

According to US Department of State 2010, there have been allegations of influence peddling and lack of transparency in government procurement.

Read more about public procurement under the 'Public Anti-Corruption Initiatives' in the Initiatives section.

Frequency

World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011:
- Business executives give the diversion of public funds to companies, individuals, or groups due to corruption a score of 4.3 on a 7-point scale (1 being 'very common' and 7 'never occurs'), constituting a competitive business advantage for the country.

- Business executives give the favouritism of government officials towards well-connected companies and individuals when deciding upon policies and contracts a score of 3.5 on a 7-point scale (1 being 'always show favouritism' and 7 'never show favouritism'), constituting a competitive business advantage for the country.

The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2006:
- 2% of the companies are expected to give gifts to secure a government contract.

- The value of a gift expected to secure a government contract is 0.14% of the contract value.