Authorities in Jordan on Monday charged an uncle of King Abdullah II with corruption in a case involving shipping contracts for a former state-owned company, dpa reported.
Walid Kurdi is former chief executive of the Jordan Phosphates Mining Company husband of the king's aunt, Princess Basma.
According to the charge sheet, the company signed a series of maritime contracts with a foreign company shortly after its privatization in 2006, with the price at more than 40 million dollars above the market rate.
The charges came a day after the Anti-Corruption Commission froze Kurdi's assets.
The commission also found that 70 per cent of the company's shipping contracts were signed to a second firm owned by Kurdi and his relatives.
Although Kurdi and his relatives have been charged with corruption, no direct members of the Jordanian royal family have been implicated in the case.
Administrative and financial corruption has become an emerging issue in Jordan and a core grievance of the country's two-year-old protest movement.