CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A Jordanian businessman who allegedly played a major role in fleecing Jordanian banks of about U.S.$113 million is being held in an Australian immigration detention center, Australian authorities said Sunday.
Businessman Majd al-Shamayleh was arrested in Sydney on May 29 and charged with carrying a false passport and opening an Australian bank account using a false name, said Beryl Janz, an Australian Federal Police spokeswoman.
He appeared in a Sydney court on the same day but federal police later dropped the charges after consultation with the director of public prosecutions because “they were minor charges and it was not in the public interest to pursue them,” Janz said.
However, police handed him over to immigration authorities because he had entered Australia illegally, Janz said.
A spokesman for the Department of Immigration said he could not comment on individual cases but added that any person entering Australia illegally is held in an immigration detention center until “arrangements are made for their departure.”
Jordanian authorities say al-Shamayleh, 39, is the main suspect in a swindle that came to light in January and which has shaken Jordan’s political and business establishments.
Bankers say that an unspecified number of Jordan-based banks loaned tens of millions of dollars in early January to businessmen who submitted fraudulent documents to the banks.
Other details weren’t available and Al-Shamayleh’s role in the alleged scam wasn’t clear. Prime Minister Ali Abul-Ragheb has said the amount of loans totaled about U.S. $113 million.
Military prosecutors, ordered to investigate the case by King Abdullah II, have questioned more than 50 people and frozen the assets of more than 150 companies and individuals.
Interpol has been on the alert for information about al-Shamayleh in connection with the alleged fraud, say Jordanian security sources, speaking on condition of anonymity.
After authorities discovered the swindle, al-Shamayleh fled to Russia before traveling to Thailand and Sydney, the sources say.
Although Jordan and Australia are not bound by a reciprocal extradition agreement. Amman is seeking to receive al-Shamayleh by a third party or through Interpol, the security sources said. They declined to elaborate.
