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Baghdad- The case of the theft of tax deposits, known in the media as the “theft of the century,” has returned. Iraq Back in the spotlight again, after the government's Integrity Commission announced that the percentage of stolen money had doubled, coinciding with the number of those accused of theft rising to more than 30 accused and convicted.
The head of the Integrity Commission, Judge Haider Hanoun, revealed new details, indicating that the Commission succeeded in recovering some of the accused, owners of companies involved in the theft, including Qasim Muhammad, who held the position of Managing Director of the “Humpbacked Whale” Company, after he was arrested in the province. KurdistanThe thefts registered in his name amounted to 988 billion dinars (about 7 million dollars), noting that these are not final figures.
While Hanoun confirmed – in a press conference held at the end of last week – that the Prime Minister follows up on the issue of tax deposits on a daily basis, he called on the Director of the Tax Authority to announce the amount of stolen money within 15 days, indicating that the Integrity Commission does not know the total amount stolen.
However, observers confirmed that the stolen amounts in the same case amounted to more than 8 billion dollars distributed among all the convicts and defendants, after it was announced the first time that the stolen amounts amounted to 2.5 billion dollars.
Anti-corruption activist and former member of the government’s anti-corruption committee, Saeed Yassin Musa, told Al Jazeera Net that the amount of money stolen in the tax deposits case was close to $8 billion, noting that there is information that cannot be disclosed at the present time, due to its impact on the course of investigations and tracking the movement of wanted persons and funds, especially after the amount of stolen money has doubled.
The so-called theft of the century was announced during the government of the former prime minister. Mustafa Al-Kadhimi In 2022, against the backdrop of the involvement of an alliance of 5 fake companies in stealing and withdrawing 3 trillion and 750 billion Iraqi dinars (about 2.5 billion dollars) of the funds deposited by major oil companies in their tax accounts using fake papers and checks.
Not the first
In the same context, the former head of the Integrity Commission, Judge Musa Faraj, explains that the “theft of the century,” despite its enormity, will not be the first or the last, but its importance comes from the fact that it is a typical case of mafia corruption, and it should be adopted as a “case study” of the nature of corruption in the country, as most of the elements of corruption are present there.
Faraj told Al Jazeera Net that the environment in which corruption is practiced and the participation of legislative and executive parties at the highest levels indicates the presence of short-sightedness, as they deal with the country’s issues from a narrow personal perspective, especially after they launched a reckless campaign to abolish the offices of general inspectors in ministries, which represent the first line of defense against corruption.
He pointed out that the parties that dominated the Cabinet Secretariat and the Prime Minister's Office – since the era of the former Prime Minister Nouri al-MalikiShe desperately sought to get rid of the competent people, and replaced them with party loyalists who deal with corruption issues superficially or selectively.
Faraj demanded that the investigation be expanded to include all those who colluded or paved the way for the thieves, starting with the head of the Finance Committee in the House of Representatives, passing through the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, the general managers, and everyone who has a direct or indirect relationship, and not limiting the matter to the direct thieves.
He stressed that the figures for the “theft of the century” were not only what was previously announced, but far exceeded it, considering that the executive authority represented by the Ministry of Finance is slow to accurately disclose the amount of stolen money, while the lack of precise determination of the amount of the theft is hindering the courts from proceeding with litigation procedures, which prompted the head of the Integrity Commission to demand that the Minister of Finance and the Tax Authority, within 15 days, accurately determine the stolen amount.
Main accused
According to the head of the Integrity Commission, the accused Mohammed Falah Al-Janabi, the managing director of the “Al-Qant” company, was previously arrested and accused of stealing one trillion and 85 billion dinars (about 7 million dollars) through 79 forged checks, in addition to the arrest of the third accused of stealing tax deposits, in the Emirates, who will be returned soon.
Hanoun said that the fourth accused is Alaa Khalaf Maran, who is currently a fugitive outside the country, and was affiliated with Al-Kadhimi’s office at the time. There is also the accused Hussein Kawa, who holds the position of managing director of one of the companies accused of theft, and who is still detained in ErbilThe judge added that efforts are underway with the Kurdistan Region to extradite him, along with another suspect who is also arrested and accused of stealing 624 billion dinars, through 37 checks.
He revealed that the number of defendants exceeded thirty, and more than two million dollars and 155 million Iraqi dinars were recovered, stressing that the first defendant, Nour Zuhair, was released on bail and is out of prison, and noted that “the case of the theft of the century will not die no matter how much the corrupt try to hide it from the oversight agencies and the eyes of the people.”
Ongoing investigations
The head of the Nahrain Foundation for Supporting Transparency and Integrity, Mohammed Rahim Al-Rubaie, revealed that investigations are still ongoing in the case of the theft of tax deposits, by the Supreme Judicial Council, the Federal Integrity Commission, and the investigation team, in addition to teams from the Financial Supervision Bureau, and they have all concluded that there are other persons accused in the same case, and that the crime is considered ongoing as long as the full amount has not been recovered.
Al-Rubaie explained to Al Jazeera Net that the number of defendants will continue to increase until the case is completely concluded, noting that the Integrity Commission’s procedures are real, deterrent and comprehensive in order to recover all those convicted and accused in this case, as well as recover the money that remains on the rise.
In October 2022, the theft of the century case involving former senior officials and businessmen was first revealed, sparking widespread outrage in the country, which has seen widespread protests in recent years demanding an end to corruption.
In mid-July, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani considered the theft of tax deposits a black spot in the state’s history, explaining that it was carried out under official cover, and revealed that half of its funds were smuggled abroad.
