Deputy accuses the presidency of the Parliament of obstructing the questioning of 5 ministers, including finance and electricity

Al-Nasr MP Faleh al-Ziadi accused the Presidency of the Council of Representatives of working to disrupt the process of questioning five ministers of the ministries (finance, oil, electricity, communications and health), after completing the collection of signatures for questioning.

Al-Ziadi told Al-Marbad that the Presidency of the Council has created a committee run by officials from the House of Representatives whose job is to review and review the reasons for interrogation, considering it a constitutional violation and describing it as heresy.

This informed Masadi had previously revealed the existence of a parliamentary approach to collect signatures for the questioning of ministers and government officials in the state about the files of corruption and government failure to perform.

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$1.1 billion in stolen Iraqi government funds retrieved: Integrity Commission

By Mohammed Rwanduzy 26 minutes ago

Photo: AFP

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Close to $1.1 billion in stolen and misused public funds have been returned to state coffers in the first six months of 2019, Iraq’s Integrity Commission announced on Monday, as anti-corruption efforts remain a forefront issue in Iraqi politics.

The Integrity Commission report covers all of Iraq’s provinces except those of the Kurdistan Region, which has its own commission. 

According to the anti-corruption watchdog, 1.3 trillion Iraqi dinars – approximately 1.1 billion US dollars – were returned to the state treasury between January and June 2019.

The Commission looked into 9,571 claims, court cases and news reports relating to corruption and public fund wasting. 1,939 suspects were referred to a trial court, including five unnamed ministers, while 100 “special degree” individuals and director generals were also referred.

There were 857 arrest warrants issued, 407 of which were carried out, added the report.

Of 838 court cases, 442 ended in conviction on corruption charges. Punishment handed down by the court included fines, and jail sentences of anywhere from three years to life.

There were 306 operations aiming to seize of funds that had been misappropriated through bribery, theft of public funds, extortion, and counterfeiting; 197 of these operations saw funds being retrieved.

Anti-corruption reform has been spoken of as a priority by Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi, who established the Supreme Anti-Corruption Council in January in a bid to coordinate government, police and judiciary efforts to tackle corruption.

He had previously condemned Iraq’s endemic corruption while speaking in parliament, noting its presence in sectors as diverse as oil trade, the prison system, and healthcare.

After Iraq territorially defeated Islamic State (ISIS) in December 2017, political focus appeared to turn to anti-corruption reform, which took center stage in party campaigns for last year’s parliamentary election.

Misappropriation of funds has been a constant thorn in Iraq’s side, with billions of dollars earmarked for post-Iraq War reconstruction being lost to waste and corruption. Iraq is one of the world’s most corrupt nations, ranking 168th out of 180 countries in the Transparency International corruption perception index.

 

Established in 2004, the Integrity Commission, though an independent body, works under the oversight of the Iraqi parliament. It was responsible for bringing to light widespread corruption in Iraq’s Nineveh province in April, retrieving $64 million in lost funds.

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Will America include Nuri al-Maliki in the list of sanctions?

Politics

Nuri al – Maliki

US sanctions

2019/08/05 09:27:33

Iraqi media have asked the US ambassador to Iraq, Matthew Toller, Annan received information indicating the intention of the United States to include former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in the list of possible sanctions coming.

Speaking to reporters at the US embassy in central Baghdad, he said, “The US administration has used sanctions powers several times before they are used in Iraq.”

“We do not apologize for the sanctions and what we have done supports the sovereignty of Iraq, where their actions have affected the stability of the country,” he said.

He declined to comment when asked about the inclusion of former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in the list of new sanctions planned to be issued.

As for a US investigation into al-Maliki, he said that “it is not possible to confirm or deny this because of his involvement with the law enforcement,” stressing that “Washington has no authority to carry out any activity except in coordination with the Iraqi government.”

The sanctions extended to Rayan al-Chaldani (leader of the Popular Mobilization faction of Babylon), Waad al-Qadu (leader of the Popular Mobilization of the Shabak component), Ahmad al-Jubouri (Abu Mazen) (former governor of Salah al-Din) and head of the parliamentary Axis coalition. To the Baghdad government following the sinking of the ferry that killed about 200 people from Mosul.

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The House of Representatives: The second legislative year will begin on the third of September

Policy

2019-08-05 | 05:14

The House of Representatives, on Monday, the third of September next date for the start of the second legislative year, pointing out that the first legislative year saw a vote on 20 laws and the end of the second reading of 15 laws.

The spokesman for the House of Representatives Shaker Hamid in a press conference held in the parliament building and attended by Alsumaria News, that “the second legislative year of the House of Representatives will begin on the third of the month of September next.”

He added, “The number of laws received from the government reached 83 laws,” noting that “the first legislative year saw a vote on 20 laws, and the completion of the first reading of 34, and the end of the second reading of 15 laws.”

He continued, “The number of parliamentary written questions in the first legislative chapter reached 51 were answered 43 of them, while the number of oral questions 14 questions were all answered.”

He pointed out that “the number of hosts in the parliamentary committees during the first legislative year amounted to 378”, pointing out that “the first legislative year witnessed the holding of 65 parliamentary meetings.”

The Speaker of the House of Representatives Mohammed Halbousi, announced on Sunday (August 4, 2019), the end of the second legislative term after being extended for a month.

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Gold hits 6-year high as trade and growth concerns boost demand

Gold bullion

Arabic and International

Economy News – Baghdad

Gold prices jumped more than 1 percent to their highest level in more than six years on Monday, with the escalation of the trade war between the United States and China as well as global growth fears that pushed investors to safe haven assets.

Spot gold rose 1.1 percent to $ 1,456.51 an ounce by 0725 GMT, after hitting its highest level since May 2013 at $ 1,459.47 earlier in the session.

Gold futures in the United States rose 0.8 percent to 1468.50 dollars an ounce.

On Friday, China said it would respond to US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a 10 percent surcharge on Chinese imports worth $ 300 billion.

The fees may force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates more than it had hoped would be necessary to protect the US economy from trade policy risks.

The yellow metal was supported by the dollar index touching its lowest level in a week, reducing the cost of gold to investors from holders of currencies other than the dollar.

For other precious metals, silver rose 1.9 percent to $ 16.51 an ounce, while platinum rose 1.4 percent to $ 854.33.

Palladium rose 1 percent to $ 1,420.60 an ounce.

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The stock market stopped its activity for five days

Market

Economy News _ Baghdad

The stock exchange announced on Monday, the suspension of its activity for five days on the occasion of Eid al-Adha.

“Due to the approaching Eid al-Adha holiday, the exchange’s management has decided not to organize trading sessions for the days from August 11 to August 15 due to the Eid al-Adha holiday,” the stock exchange’s management said in a statement received.

The statement added, “The first trading session in the Iraqi market for securities will be after Eid al-Adha and as of Sunday, 18/8/2019.”

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