Jordan has arrested 11 people on suspicion that they were involved in illegally raising $42 million for the Muslim Brotherhood over the past several years.
The move comes amid a crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood, which Jordanian authorities banned in April after revealing an alleged armed plot against the kingdom. The 11 suspects were not identified.
The Brotherhood used the money in Jordan to finance cells, election campaigns, including for student unions, and as salaries to politicians loyal to the group, Jordan's state news agency reported, without naming the politicians.
“The Brotherhood was running a huge financial network,” the agency said. It listed sources for the money as illegal donations, including some supposedly raised to help the Palestinians in Gaza, rental properties outside Jordan, masked investments, as well as membership subscriptions.
In April, the authorities seized $5.6 million in Brotherhood cash stashed a compound near Amman that was raided by security forces, the agency said. The same month, Jordan banned the activities of the Brotherhood, a week after a dozen of its members were implicated in the alleged plot against the country.
The suspects were charged with terrorism-related crimes over an alleged plan to manufacture weapons and drones and use them to destabilise Jordan.
The Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood is an affiliate of the group founded and outlawed in Egypt. Membership is now illegal in Jordan and all its offices have been closed.
Even before the ban, the Brotherhood had been considered officially dissolved in Jordan, but outlawing it has further limited its room for manoeuvre. Earlier this month, Jordan launched legal action against organisations “operating under the influence” of the Brotherhood.
