Oil revenues constitute 90 percent of Iraq’s revenues
Iraqi officials said they are investigating the disappearance of $2.5 billion from the General Tax Authority’s account.
Local media had published a document from the authority showing that the amount was withdrawn between January and August.
The money was transferred to the accounts of five different companies using dozens of checks, which were then withdrawn from the accounts on the spot, according to reports.
The Ministry of Finance asked the Integrity Commission to investigate what some describe as the largest embezzlement operation in the history of Iraq.
Prime Minister-designate Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani said his government would fight corruption, and that it would be a top priority.
He added in a tweet via Twitter that he was reluctant to “take real measures to curb corruption, which has brazenly spread in the joints of the state and its institutions.”
“We will not allow Iraqis’ money to be stolen, as happened with the funds of the General Authority for Taxes in the Rafidain Bank,” he said.
The outgoing Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, had recently accepted the resignation of Acting Finance Minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar.
Abdul-Jabbar said in a tweet he posted on October 15 that the results of the investigation conducted during his time in office showed that 3.7 trillion Iraqi dinars, equivalent to $2.5 billion in tax money deposited in Rafidain Bank.
He added that he handed over the evidence to the relevant authorities, including the Finance Committee in Parliament.
On the eleventh of October, Parliament voted in favor of ending the services of Acting Finance Minister Abdul-Jabbar, arguing that his holding the position is incompatible with his responsibilities as Minister of Oil.
The Anti-Corruption Authority announced on Sunday that it has launched an investigation into what happened, and that it will hand over the resulting information and documents to the judiciary to take the necessary measures against the persons involved in the embezzlement.
Iraq ranks 157 out of 180 on Transparency International’s Corruption Index.
It is noteworthy that the filing of indictments is rare in Iraq in the higher circles, and is usually limited to the middle levels.
The United Nations envoy to Iraq, Jeanine Hens-Blachart, told the Security Council at the beginning of this month that the pervasiveness of corruption in Iraq is one of the major reasons for the failure. “Frankly, not a single leader can claim to be immune,” she added.
It is noteworthy that Iraq is one of the major oil-producing countries, and oil revenues finance 90 percent of the federal government’s budget.
A wave of angry protests erupted at the end of 2019 across Iraq against the poor public sector services.