COI investigates where $83 million disappeared from state company
The headquarters of the Supreme Judicial Council in Baghdad, Iraq. Photo: AFP via Getty Images
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi authorities revealed that $83 million disappeared from the revenues of a state company in Babylon governorate in central Iraq.
The Investigation Department of the Iraqi Commission of Integrity (COI) mentioned in a statement that the incident took place in the State Company for Automotive Industry (SCAI) in the city of Alexandria located 40 kilometers south of Baghdad.
The statement revealed that the amount disappeared between September 2017 and September 2022.
During this period, the total revenues of the company were 305.3 billion Iraqi dinars (equivalent to $210.5 million), while the expenditures were about 185.1 billion Iraqi dinars (approximately $127.6 million), according to the statement.
The COI’s Investigation Department indicated that employees in the SCAI hid most of the documents.
Last April, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, confirmed that his government is fighting corruption in Iraq ‘without red lines.’
One month earlier, the former Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, said that corruption in Iraq caused losses of more than $600 billion, stressing that the money was used for the benefit of individuals, parties, and military entities.
In late 2022, the COI announced the formation of a supreme commission to investigate major corruption cases in the country.