The king and queen of Jordan had secret Swiss bank accounts worth hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a major data leak from one of Switzerland's largest banks. Hosni Mubarak's sons and business tycoons thrived during his 30-year rule.
The accounts were linked to spy chiefs from Egypt, Jordan and Yemen who have been accused of human rights abuses.
People in the Middle East have lacked information about the finances of their countries, other than what they could glean from peering over palace walls.
The data leak from the bank Credit Suisse has opened a peephole into the private wealth of a range of potentates, raising new questions about the ability of elites to turn public posts into private profit in countries where the lack of transparency creates openings for corruption.
The executive director of the Arab Reform Initiative said that there is a corrupt elite that is integrated into the global financial system.
He said that the failure of many states to create boundaries between the rulers and the state's assets allowed the politically connected to enrich themselves.
It looks like a state, it sounds like a state, but ultimately when it comes to the assets of the country, many of the potentates act like absolute monarchs.
The New York Times and other news organizations were made aware of the leaked banking information by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.
The data contains account information over a number of decades and includes account holders' names, opening and closing dates, and maximum and closing balances. The leaked data doesn't include information about the cash flow through the accounts, the source of the funds or the extent of bank inquiries into whether the money was dirty.
Most of the account holders named in the leak are either dead or out of power, making it less likely that the revelations will inspire accountability efforts. Mr. Houry said that there is no evidence that officials in power now have more opportunities for private gain than their predecessors did.
The power dynamics have not changed and no state controller is able to hold the powerful to account, so they have all been window dressing.
A circle of businessmen close to President Mubarak were able to accumulate vast fortunes in the years before he was ousted. His sons got rich as well.
According to the leaked data, the Mubarak brothers held six accounts at Credit Suisse, including a joint account that ballooned to $196 million.
The accounts of each of the sons were worth millions of dollars, as were the accounts of the fathers-in-law.
Hundreds of millions of dollars of assets associated with Mr. Mubarak and his government were frozen by the Swiss authorities as the Arab Spring progressed. There are no details on what was frozen.
Through their lawyers, the Mubaraks told The New York Times that all of their assets had been legally acquired through their successful professional business activities.
Some material inaccuracies could be contained in the leaked account information.
The only sitting head of state in the leaked data was King Abdullah II of Jordan, a close United States partner whose kingdom has received billions in military and economic aid from the United States over the years. The aid was $22 billion as of the year.
According to the leaked data, King Abdullah had six Swiss accounts, one of which held more than $224 million in 2015. Queen Rania had an account that was more than 40 million dollars. The accounts were closed in 2015.
The Royal Hashemite Court said in a statement that there had been no wrongdoing in relation to the bank accounts.
The largest account of the king was from the sale of an aircraft in May of 2015. His personal wealth was inherited from his father, the previous monarch.
The portion of the king's personal wealth set aside for the couple's four children was held in Queen Rania's account. It said that the balance was inaccurate, but it did not give an alternate figure.
The funds were used to buy a smaller aircraft, for investments, personal expenses and social and economic projects for Jordanians, and to maintain the Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem that are under the king's custodianship, the statement said.
The leaked data shows that the former president of Algeria had a shared account with a number of relatives. After 20 years in power, he was ousted in 2019.
Sultan Qaboos bin Said had two accounts, one that held over $126 million in 2003 and another that held over $57 million in 2015.
The accounts held by the heads of intelligence agencies or their relatives included figures who worked closely with the Central Intelligence Agency on covert operations and who have been accused of overseeing torture and other human rights abuses.
The data showed that Mr. Mubarak's long-serving intelligence chief opened a joint account in 2003 with close relatives of Suleiman.
The account was open until the fall of Mr. Mubarak. The reporting project was unsuccessful in reaching his relatives.
Human rights organizations say that the United States tortured terrorism suspects under the leadership of the Jordanian intelligence agency. He opened an account in 2003 that had a balance of $21.6 million before he died.
Douglas London, a retired senior operations officer in the C.I.A., said that names suggested that the money was for personal use.
He said that the autocrats took care of their loyalty and their service because they were the right hands.
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