Bank Robberies Rattle Jordan

A series of armed bank robberies in Amman has rattled Jordan, with some activists blaming the country’s rising crime rate on alleged government corruption and failed economic policies, Aljazeera reported. Activists say increased taxes and food and fuel prices have eroded the savings and salaries of the country’s poor, which has pushed some to resort to serious crime. Armed bank robberies are rare in Jordan, but Amman has recently seen four heists in branches of the Societe Generale Bank Jordan and Arab Bank Jordan. Two branches of Societe Generale bank were robbed within 48 hours of each other in January, and two Arab Bank branches were hit in early April, with robbers taking tens of thousands of Jordanian dinars (one dinar is equivalent to $1.4 approximately) each time, according to police statements. Video footage of a robbery at one of the Societe Generale branches showed a lone, barefaced gunman walking calmly to the counter, demanding money be put in a bag and then fleeing the scene on foot.