Al-Bashir payroll fraud case referred to anti-graft body

Shaheennews – 

The government has referred a payroll fraud case at the Al-Bashir hospital’s services unit to the Integrity and Anti-corruption Commission to look into allegations that about 800 service workers were receiving salaries without actually attending to work, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz announced Monday.

During a visit to the East Amman hospital, the premier said he contacted the anti-graft body chief to look into the “ghost workers” case, adding that the government will receive a detailed report on the issue in ten days.

“The government would not tolerate corruption or waste of public money collected from the citizens”, Razzaz said in a meeting with the director of the hospital, Mahmoud Zreiqat, in the presence of Interior Minister Samir Mubaidin, the Amman Governor and the hospital departments’ directors.

“We are duty-bound to make absolutely certain that this money is spent properly in providing adequate service to citizens”, the premier pledged.

Razzaz said that his visit to the hospital came after its director received threats after the revelation of the alleged corruption case.

A total of 1,200 cleaning and laundry workers were on the hospital’s records, a number that turned out to be “fake” as unveiled by a preliminary investigation.

It turned out that 800 workers, each was receiving a monthly salary of JD300 without reporting to their jobs, a sizeable portion of the hospital’s budget.

The prime minister also commended security agencies for providing protection to the hospital’s staff.