Al-Rai: Jordan: the decision to freeze Hamas assets was an administrative mistake

The Jordanian daily al-Rai quoted the governor of the central bank of Jordan Umaya Touqan as saying yesterday that the decision taken to freeze the assets of Hamas movement and other groups by the beginning of September was an administrative error.

Touqan said that the decision of "freezing money of several Hamas leaders in Jordanian banks was a technical administrative error that was corrected the next day after the decision."

The paper added that Touqan said "he did not know about measures taken by one employee at the Central Bank who followed up a request that came to the bank to freeze assets of four persons but without indicating that the persons are Hamas leaders."

Touqan continued, while addressing several Jordanian parliamentarians that he had signed the "decision without inspecting names of persons that their assets are frozen."

Most of the parliamentarians called on the government to remove Touqan following the freezing decision.Al-Rai quoted Touqan as saying that "an investigation committee was formed inside the bank to punish the person behind this measure."