Iraq recovers a fraction of the $2.5 billion stolen from the taxman

Mohamed Chia al-Soudani announced that one of the businessmen involved in this affair, Nour Zouhair Jassem, had returned just over 125 million dollars, out of the more than 1 billion dollars that he "confessed " to have obtained.

The businessman will be released on bail, in exchange for which he will return the rest of the stolen money within two weeks, said Mr. Soudani.

The case, publicized in mid-October, provoked strong indignation in an Iraq rich in oil and hit by endemic corruption.

A document from the General Tax Administration explained that these 2.5 billion dollars were collected between September 2021 and August 2022, via 247 checks cashed by five companies. The money was then withdrawn in cash from the accounts of these companies, whose owners, mostly on the run, are the subject of arrest warrants.

"The competent authorities were able to recover a first installment amounting to 182.6 billion Iraqi dinars", that is more than 125 million dollars, announced Mr. Soudani.

He was speaking during a televised address, flanked by stacks of banknotes piled up in bundles. These funds were returned by Nour Zouhair Jassem, arrested at the end of October at Baghdad airport while trying to leave the country on a private jet.

- "No one will be spared" -

Justice has reached an "agreement" with the accused for him to return the full amount, said Mr. Soudani. "He will be released on bail to facilitate the restitution process."

Another accused was arrested in the autonomous region of Kurdistan and will be handed over to the authorities in Baghdad, said Mr. Soudani.

Constantly hammering home his desire to fight corruption, the Prime Minister has been making announcements and initiatives on this subject since he came to power in October.

Regarding the 2.5 billion, he called on Sunday all the accused "to surrender and return the stolen sums", suggesting that they could benefit from agreements similar to that found with Mr. Jassem.

“We will work with justice to help them with legal proceedings, within the framework of what is authorized by law,” he promised.

"Yes, it is very important to arrest the thieves and those who helped them," said the Prime Minister. "But the most important thing is the return of the funds. What does it matter if so and so is in prison, if the ($2.5 billion) are not in the state coffers?" he justified.

Tax officials and public control bodies are involved, acknowledged the Prime Minister, adding that their identity "will be revealed at the end of the investigation". "We will spare no one," he promised.

Despite a corruption that has infiltrated all state institutions and public administrations, if convictions exist in Iraq they often target the intermediate levels of the state or simple performers, rarely the top of the pyramid.