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Offshore Leaks Database

Data from
Panama Papers - The Power Players
Former prime minister of Jordan

Ali Abu al-Ragheb

Al-Ragheb was director of offshore companies in British Virgin Islands, owned others in Seychelles

Related to

Jordan

About

The career arc of Jordan’s Ali Abu al-Ragheb, a U.S.-educated engineer, took him from the business world, where he was an engineering company executive for almost 20 years, to the public arena of Parliament and cabinet ministries overseeing industry, trade, energy and mineral resources. He developed plans for King Abdullah II’s proposed special economic zone around the port of Aqaba, work that helped make him the king’s favorite for prime minister in 2000. Though al-Ragheb focused on boosting the economy and attracting foreign investment, his tenure was marred by a crackdown on civil liberties amid rising anger over the U.S. invasion of neighboring Iraq and lagging political reforms. He resigned in 2003 and joined the boards of Jordan’s leading finance and insurance companies.

In the data

In July 2003, just months before he resigned as prime minister, Ali Abu al-Ragheb and his wife Yusra became directors of the British Virgin Islands company Jaar Investment Ltd., which held an account with Arab Bank in Geneva, Switzerland. The company was inactivated in August 2008. Earlier in 2008 they became directors of Jay Investment Holdings Ltd also based in the British Virgin Islands. In neither case were the companies' activities identified. Until December 2014 al-Ragheb also owned three Seychelles companies. His children were involved as directors in several additional BVI companies, including Desertstar Investment Capital Ltd., which also held an account at Arab Bank in Geneva that was used to invest in Jordan.

Response

Al-Ragheb did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
This visualization contains relevant information in relation to the profiled individual. Some additional connections might show up once we release the full structured data connected to the Paradise Papers investigation in the coming weeks.

Disclaimer

There are legitimate uses for offshore companies and trusts. The inclusion of a person or entity in the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database is not intended to suggest or imply that they have engaged in illegal or improper conduct. Many people and entities have the same or similar names. We suggest you confirm the identities of any individuals or entities included in the database based on addresses or other identifiable information. The data comes directly from the leaked files ICIJ has received in connection with various investigations and each dataset encompasses a defined time period specified in the database. Some information may have changed over time. Please contact us if you find an error in the database.

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