Ex Iraq Officers Accused Of $2.5 Billion Theft

The 4 males are all dwelling exterior the nation.

Baghdad:

Iraq’s judiciary issued arrest warrants on Saturday for 4 former officers who’re accused of facilitating the theft of $2.5 billion in public funds in one of many nation’s biggest-ever corruption scandals.

An investigating decide in Baghdad has “issued arrest warrants for 4 senior officers of the previous authorities”, the federal government’s anti-corruption company stated in an announcement.

The 4 males, who embrace a former finance minister and family members of former prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi, are all dwelling exterior the nation, in line with an official on the company who spoke on situation of anonymity.

The warrants don’t identify any of the officers, however in line with the official, they’re former finance minister Ali Allawi, the director of cupboard Raed Jouhi, private secretary Ahmed Najati, and adviser Mushrik Abbas.

Allawi, a revered politician and educational, resigned in August final yr when the scandal broke.

The case, which has been dubbed “the heist of the century”, sparked outrage in oil-rich Iraq, which critics say is plagued with corruption.

At the very least $2.5 billion was stolen between September 2021 and August 2022 by way of 247 cheques that had been cashed by 5 firms. The cash was then withdrawn in money from the accounts of those firms, most of whose house owners are on the run.

The 4 males are accused of “facilitating the embezzlement of sums belonging to the tax authorities,” the assertion stated, including that they’d even be topic to an asset freeze.

The nation’s present Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has vowed to crack down on corruption since his appointment in late October.

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