Iraq to ask Interpol to pursue Theft of the Century’s criminals
The Interpol logo. Photo: AFP
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraq is about to ask the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to issue arrest warrants against former senior officials, including a former finance minister and intelligence chief, in connection with the theft of more than $2.5 billion from the General Commission for Taxes.
According to Iraqi officials, Iraq’s Commission of Integrity (COI) disclosed last October details about the theft of more than 3.7 trillion Iraqi dinars ($2.53 billion) from the General Commission for Taxes.
The Iraqi judiciary issued arrest warrants for senior officials in the Ministry of Finance regarding this major breach and terrible abuse of public funds, as the COI mentioned in October.
The head of the COI, Haider Hanoun, announced on Sunday that procedures will be taken with Interpol to have Red Notices, which are requests to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action, published against former officials involved in the Theft of the Century.
Hanoun indicated that Iraq is seeking to extradite those involved in the theft from countries including the UAE, Turkey, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and called on the United States and the United Kingdom to hand over the fugitive suspects.
The head of the COI elaborated that each of those involved in the Theft of the Century received not less than $77 million, adding that it is a big crime where the number of suspects is more than 48.
The Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported in October that an internal investigation carried out by the Ministry of Finance found the money had been withdrawn from the account of the General Commission for Taxes at a state-owned bank.
At that time, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, vowed to tackle endemic corruption in the country.
“We will not allow Iraqis’ money to be robbed,” Al-Sudani said via Twitter.
The Rafidain Bank issued a statement in October confirming it has nothing to do with any manipulation or theft and is only responsible for cashing the checks issued by the General Commission for Taxes.
The vast sum of cash, equivalent to nearly 3.7 trillion Iraqi dinars, was stolen by five companies from the General Commission of Taxes account at Baghdad’s Al-Rafidain Bank between September 2021 and August 2022 through the cashing in of 247 checks issued by the tax directorate, according to Rudaw News.
The Karkh Investigation Court decided on August 21, 2022, to stop the disbursement of checks issued by the General Commission for Taxes.