Iraq
Haider Hanoun, head of the integrity commission speaking during a ceremony in Erbil on September 4, 2024. Photo: Screengrab/Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s anti-corruption body is preparing a new national strategy to combat corruption, the head of the commission said on Wednesday, as the twists and turns of the “heist of the century” continue to captivate the nation.
“The integrity commission in the Republic of Iraq is in the process of preparing a new national integrity and anti-corruption strategy for the next six years, from 2025 to 2030,” Haider Hanoun, head of the integrity commission, said at the launch of the first report on the implementation of the anti-corruption strategy in the Kurdistan Region.
Hanoun said that the new strategy will rely on “cooperation with the three branches of government - legislative, executive, and judicial - as well as with the Federal Board of Supreme Audit, the Integrity Commission in the Kurdistan Region, and in partnership with the private sector, civil society, and investigative journalism.”
Rampant corruption plagues all levels of the Iraqi state. The country ranks as the joint tenth most corrupt nation in the world according to Transparency International’s annual corruption index.
Hanoun said the goal of the new strategy is to “assist institutions in self-correcting errors, encouraging them to make continuous improvements in their performance, and accelerating steps toward digital transformation.”
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said that one of the priorities of his cabinet was confronting corruption and limiting the misuse of public funds.
“We have taken serious steps and implemented the necessary measures to promote transparency and combat corruption,” said Barzani at the launch, adding that the KRG has established “strong coordination” and good relations with the Integrity Commission.
The prime minister said that over the past few years multiple corruption cases were uncovered, investigated and taken to the Kurdistan Region’s courts.
Iraq is currently captivated by a massive corruption case of the theft of $2.5 billion (3.7 trillion dinars) from tax coffers, dubbed the “heist of the century.”
An investigation by the Iraqi finance ministry in October 2022 concluded that the tax funds were stolen by five companies during the tenure of former Finance Minister Ali Allawi.
The primary suspect in the heist, businessman Noor Zuhair Jassim, was due to appear before court in mid-August, but did not show up. There are conflicting reports that he was involved in a traffic accident in Lebanon. The court has granted Jassim’s bail bondsmen until September 9 to bring him to court.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani said in November 2022 that Jassim admitted to embezzling a sum of 1.618 trillion dinars (over $1.1 billion).
The government has recovered some of the funds, but the majority remains missing.
In an interview with Iraqi media in August, Jassim claimed that the money he was accused of stealing was not from the state’s coffers and vowed to release the names of all those involved if he is prosecuted.
Another arrest warrant was issued on Tuesday for Haitham al-Jabouri, the former head of the parliamentary finance committee. Jabouri was arrested for his involvement in the case in November 2022 but was released on bail in early 2023.
“The integrity commission in the Republic of Iraq is in the process of preparing a new national integrity and anti-corruption strategy for the next six years, from 2025 to 2030,” Haider Hanoun, head of the integrity commission, said at the launch of the first report on the implementation of the anti-corruption strategy in the Kurdistan Region.
Hanoun said that the new strategy will rely on “cooperation with the three branches of government - legislative, executive, and judicial - as well as with the Federal Board of Supreme Audit, the Integrity Commission in the Kurdistan Region, and in partnership with the private sector, civil society, and investigative journalism.”
Rampant corruption plagues all levels of the Iraqi state. The country ranks as the joint tenth most corrupt nation in the world according to Transparency International’s annual corruption index.
Hanoun said the goal of the new strategy is to “assist institutions in self-correcting errors, encouraging them to make continuous improvements in their performance, and accelerating steps toward digital transformation.”
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said that one of the priorities of his cabinet was confronting corruption and limiting the misuse of public funds.
“We have taken serious steps and implemented the necessary measures to promote transparency and combat corruption,” said Barzani at the launch, adding that the KRG has established “strong coordination” and good relations with the Integrity Commission.
The prime minister said that over the past few years multiple corruption cases were uncovered, investigated and taken to the Kurdistan Region’s courts.
Iraq is currently captivated by a massive corruption case of the theft of $2.5 billion (3.7 trillion dinars) from tax coffers, dubbed the “heist of the century.”
An investigation by the Iraqi finance ministry in October 2022 concluded that the tax funds were stolen by five companies during the tenure of former Finance Minister Ali Allawi.
The primary suspect in the heist, businessman Noor Zuhair Jassim, was due to appear before court in mid-August, but did not show up. There are conflicting reports that he was involved in a traffic accident in Lebanon. The court has granted Jassim’s bail bondsmen until September 9 to bring him to court.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani said in November 2022 that Jassim admitted to embezzling a sum of 1.618 trillion dinars (over $1.1 billion).
The government has recovered some of the funds, but the majority remains missing.
In an interview with Iraqi media in August, Jassim claimed that the money he was accused of stealing was not from the state’s coffers and vowed to release the names of all those involved if he is prosecuted.
Another arrest warrant was issued on Tuesday for Haitham al-Jabouri, the former head of the parliamentary finance committee. Jabouri was arrested for his involvement in the case in November 2022 but was released on bail in early 2023.
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