Qudah was arrested on March 4 in his capacity as chairman of the board of directors of Jordan Petroleum Refinery Co. (JPRC) along with the firm's CEO Ahmad Rifai, economic adviser to the prime minister Mohammad Rawashdeh and prominent businessman Khalid Shahin.

The public prosecutor at the State Security Court (SSC) had rejected several bids by defense lawyers to free them on bail.

The four were charged with bribery and abuse of public posts in a project to bring strategic investors for a $1.2 billion expansion of the country's sole refinery.

At a later stage, the court decided to freeze the assets of the defendants pending the conclusion of trial procedures.

Trials of ministers and senior officials is rare in Jordan and the case has attracted public attention on the hope that it could herald the adoption of a more serious pattern in dealing with corruption.

Prime Minister Samir Rifai decided to refer the case to the SSC on the ground that the charges constituted a national economic crime.

The court is trying to determine whether government officials were bribed to grant a consortium led by Shahin a 15-year exclusivity deal to undertake the mega project when other bidders withdrew from the competition following the global financial crisis at the end of 2008.

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

The Cabinet recently appointed the Boston-based consulting conglomerate Charles River Associates as financial, legal and technical consultants to propose to the government a draft agreement for carrying out the JPRC's fourth expansion and the terms under which the firm can be granted exclusive rights for operation in the kingdom.