BAGHDAD/Obelisk: The Iraqi authorities announced on Tuesday that they had recovered an additional $2.6 million of the $2.5 billion stolen from tax funds from a government official who is on trial in this case.
The case, which was revealed in mid-October, involving former senior officials and businessmen, has sparked outrage in oil-rich and corruption-ridden Iraq.
A document from the General Tax Authority states that $2.5 billion was paid between September 2021 and August 2022 through 247 checks issued by five companies. The money was then withdrawn in cash from the accounts of these companies, whose owners, who are mostly fugitives, are subject to arrest warrants.
And the head of the Integrity Commission, Judge Haidar Hanoun, announced in a press conference on Tuesday that 4 billion dinars (2.6 million dollars) had been recovered, which is part of “the amount of 17 billion, 13 million and a few thousand dinars” (more than 11 million dollars), which is supposed to be returned by one of the defendants. .
Hanoun did not disclose the name of this accused. “We cannot reveal his name now because the court has not issued a ruling yet,” he said.
Hanoun added, “The accused from whom the money was recovered is in the process of being tried before the Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court,” explaining that he will be tried on January 12.
A source in the Integrity Commission said, according to Agence France-Presse, that the person responsible for stealing the aforementioned amount is Haitham al-Jubouri, a former deputy and one of the government advisors. According to the source, Al-Jubouri is currently under arrest.
The judge of the Investigation Court specialized in cases of integrity in Baghdad, Diaa Jaafar, had said in late November that Al-Jubouri was under investigation on the background of “the correspondences sent by him regarding the cancellation of the Audit of the Financial Supervision Bureau of the insurance amounts.”
The new Iraqi government often announces developments related to the issue of theft of tax money, which is called the “theft of the century,” while it has made combating corruption a priority.
A businessman was arrested in connection with the case before being released on bail after returning $211.6 million in embezzled funds.
Although corruption is rampant in all state institutions in Iraq, the trials that take place in these cases are few, and if they do happen, they target minor officials.
Informed sources revealed, on Tuesday, January 3, 2023, information about the accused of stealing the century and the head of the former Finance Committee, Haitham Al-Jubouri.
The sources said that Al-Jubouri is asking to be released on bail and pledge to recover the inflated amounts, like Nour Zuhair, who is accused of stealing the horn.
A security force had earlier arrested Haitham al-Jubouri, the financial advisor to the head of the former federal government, on the grounds of his inflated funds.
The arrest came based on the inflated funds of Al-Jubouri, by unknown and illegal methods.
Search 4 Dinar 