Jordan's former spy chief, once one of the country's most feared and powerful officials, was sentenced to 13 years in prison on Sunday in the first high-profile case from an anti-corruption crackdown driven by popular protests.
General Mohammad al-Dahabi (retd), who ran the country's intelligence agency from 2005 to 2009, was found guilty of money laundering, embezzlement and abuse of power, and was ordered to return $30 million.
It was the first time a member of the political elite had been tried and jailed in a country where accusations of corruption are widespread and the security service wields huge power.
Dahabi's arrest last February and his trial which began in Amman a few months later were the most dramatic steps in an anti-graft campaign heralded as the largest ever in Jordan.
The drive launched by King Abdullah last year was seen as a response to Arab Spring-inspired demonstrations calling for greater political freedoms and an end to corruption.