The four defendants — former board chairman of the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Co. (JPRC) Adel Qudah, the firm’s ex-manager Ahmad Rifai, economic adviser to the Prime Minister Mohammad Rawashdeh and prominent businessman Khalid Shaheen — were arrested last month upon a lawsuit filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission.

The assets of the four men were also frozen pending the conclusion of the legal probe which experts said could herald an unprecedented battle against reportedly entrenched corruption in the country.

The four are due to go on trial next Wednesday before the SSC which will seek to determine whether government officials were bribed to grant a consortium led by Shaheen a 15-year exclusivity deal to undertake the mega project when other bidders withdrew from the competition after the eruption of the financial crisis that hit the world economy at the end of 2008.

The JPRC’s 50-year monopoly concession ended in 2008 and the firm’s operations since then were conducted in accordance with specific rules set by the government.

The Cabinet last week appointed the Boston-based consulting conglomerate, Charles River Associates (CRA), as financial, legal and technical consultant to propose to the government a draft agreement for carrying out the JPRC’s fourth expansion and granting it exclusive rights for operation in the Kingdom.