Jordan’s king denies impropriety in luxury home purchases, including one in California

Jordan’s King Abdullah II was meeting with the World Bank president, asking for more financial support for his country’s battered economy, just around the time the news broke: A trove of leaked documents revealed the king had secretly bought more than a dozen luxury homes in the U.S. and Britain for more than $100 million in the last decade. Last year, his then-prime minister, Omar Razzaz, launched an effort to crack down on tax evasion, corruption and “smuggling money into tax havens.” On Monday, the king paid a visit to tribal leaders and other dignitaries in Badia, a region south of the capital Amman, where he said Jordan was being threatened by destabilizing forces. President Biden this year called Abdullah a “loyal and decent friend.” U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price would not comment specifically on Abdullah’s real estate holdings but said: “When it comes to our assistance to Jordan, we have been helping to improve the lives of the Jordanian people for over six decades. We carefully conduct monitoring and evaluation of all of our assistance programs to ensure they’re implemented according to their intended purpose.” Price said that American aid to Jordan is in the national security interest of the United States because it helps the country secure its borders, promote stability and participate in countering the Islamic State group.