Iraq’s prime minister-designate Mohammed Shia Al Sudani vowed on Sunday to act against corruption after authorities announced nearly $2.5 billion was embezzled from the account of a government agency.
The Iraqi Integrity Commission announced it was opening an investigation into the theft of 3.7 trillion dinars, while confirming that the case is currently before the judiciary.
The amount was stolen from the General Tax Authority's trust account held by a branch of the Rafidain Bank, according to the Iraqi finance ministry.
“We will never hesitate to take real measures to curb the corruption that has so brazenly spread in the joints of the state and its institutions,” Mr Al Sudani tweeted on Sunday.
“We have put this file in the first priority of our programme, and we will not allow the money of the Iraqis to be stolen, as has happened with the funds of the General Authority for Taxes in the Rafidain Bank.”
Snap elections were held last year following nationwide protests that erupted in October 2019 to decry endemic corruption, decaying infrastructure and the absence of services and jobs for youth.
On Thursday, Iraq’s parliament finally elected Abdul Latif Rashid as the country’s new president, who then tasked Mr Al Sudani to form a new government to end a year of political gridlock.
Mr Al Sudani faces a challenge in the coming weeks to appoint a new cabinet of ministers after the Iraqi political bloc led by influential Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr said on Saturday that it would not join the new government.
Mr Al Sudani, a former minister, has the backing of Mr Al Sadr's Iran-backed rivals, the Co-ordination Framework, which controls 138 out of 329 seats in the Iraqi legislature.
Meanwhile, Iraq's outgoing Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi appointed Hayam Nemat as acting finance minister after accepting the resignation of Ihsan Abdul Jabbar, the state news agency said on Saturday. Mr Jabbar remains Oil Minister.
In mid-August, Mr Al Kadhimi assigned the Finance Ministry to Mr Albdul Jabbar after the resignation of Ali Allawi, who stepped down in protest against what he called widespread corruption and the influence of political parties over the country’s revenue.
Last week, Parliament voted to remove Mr Abdul Jabbar over "mismanagement" and for allegedly failing to send financial statements to parliament.
Mr Nemat will now fill the position until a new government is formed.
A $2.5 billion fraud
The embezzlement Mr Al Sudani spoke of is just one of a number of major corruption-related scandals in the war-torn country. It was revealed late on Saturday by Mr Abdul Jabbar.
He used his resignation letter from the role of acting finance minister to share the results of the investigation. More documents related to the investigation were leaked to media on Saturday.
The investigation found that 3.7 trillion Iraqi Dinar (slightly over $US2.5 billion) was fraudulently paid to five companies by the General Commission of Taxes.
The money was paid to the companies through 247 cheques between September 9, 2021, and August 11 this year from the General Commission of Taxes account at the State-run Rafidain Bank.
At least three of the companies were established in July last year, according to registration documents included in the leak.
Trading companies and individuals who have dealings with the government have to deposit a specific amount of money as a performance guarantee, from which later the taxes will be deducted.
Afterwards, the companies and individuals can apply to withdraw what is left from their deposits.
“These amounts have been stolen by the companies through the cheques issued by the General Commission of Taxes instead of going to the real beneficiaries,” the investigation concludes.
The owners of the companies in question and how they escaped scrutiny is still unknown, nor whether they are linked to any political parties or politicians.
“This economic crime is an extension of smaller irregularities that are widespread in the Finance Ministry’s departments and are continuing,” Mr Abdul Jabbar said in his resignation letter.
“This is one of the reasons behind the collapse of the Iraqi economy and the loss of the biggest chunk of the state revenues by experienced groups,” he added.
He said one of the reasons behind his removal as acting finance minister was this case, accusing those behind the scheme of a campaign against him which resulted in his forced resignation. He didn’t divulge more details.
Corruption has been rife in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Many politicians have been arrested or removed from office for the practice.
Iraq is considered one of the most corrupt countries in the world. It ranked 157th out of 180 nations on Transparency International’s 2021 corruption index.
The endemic corrupting was among the key motives behind 2019 pro-reform protests that engulfed major cities in central and southern Iraq.
The months-long protests forced the previous government to resign and early elections to take place.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Monday's results
- UAE beat Bahrain by 51 runs
- Qatar beat Maldives by 44 runs
- Saudi Arabia beat Kuwait by seven wickets
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Final scores
18 under: Tyrrell Hatton (ENG)
- 14: Jason Scrivener (AUS)
-13: Rory McIlroy (NIR)
-12: Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP)
-11: David Lipsky (USA), Marc Warren (SCO)
-10: Tommy Fleetwood (ENG), Chris Paisley (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG), Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR)
The biog
Born November 11, 1948
Education: BA, English Language and Literature, Cairo University
Family: Four brothers, seven sisters, two daughters, 42 and 39, two sons, 43 and 35, and 15 grandchildren
Hobbies: Reading and traveling
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Rajasthan Royals 153-5 (17.5 ov)
Delhi Daredevils 60-4 (6 ov)
Rajasthan won by 10 runs (D/L method)
The bio
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite travel destination: Maldives and south of France
Favourite pastime: Family and friends, meditation, discovering new cuisines
Favourite Movie: Joker (2019). I didn’t like it while I was watching it but then afterwards I loved it. I loved the psychology behind it.
Favourite Author: My father for sure
Favourite Artist: Damien Hurst
About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
if you go
The flights
Fly direct to Kutaisi with Flydubai from Dh925 return, including taxes. The flight takes 3.5 hours. From there, Svaneti is a four-hour drive. The driving time from Tbilisi is eight hours.
The trip
The cost of the Svaneti trip is US$2,000 (Dh7,345) for 10 days, including food, guiding, accommodation and transfers from and to Tbilisi or Kutaisi. This summer the TCT is also offering a 5-day hike in Armenia for $1,200 (Dh4,407) per person. For further information, visit www.transcaucasiantrail.org/en/hike/
The%20Roundup
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Lee%20Sang-yong%3Cbr%3EStars%3A%20Ma%20Dong-seok%2C%20Sukku%20Son%2C%20Choi%20Gwi-hwa%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Brief scoreline
Switzerland 0
England 0
Result: England win 6-5 on penalties
Man of the Match: Trent Alexander-Arnold (England)
Six things you need to know about UAE Women’s Special Olympics football team
Several girls started playing football at age four
They describe sport as their passion
The girls don’t dwell on their condition
They just say they may need to work a little harder than others
When not in training, they play football with their brothers and sisters
The girls want to inspire others to join the UAE Special Olympics teams
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The biog
Name: James Mullan
Nationality: Irish
Family: Wife, Pom; and daughters Kate, 18, and Ciara, 13, who attend Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS)
Favourite book or author: “That’s a really difficult question. I’m a big fan of Donna Tartt, The Secret History. I’d recommend that, go and have a read of that.”
Dream: “It would be to continue to have fun and to work with really interesting people, which I have been very fortunate to do for a lot of my life. I just enjoy working with very smart, fun people.”
Company%20profile%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYodawy%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Egypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKarim%20Khashaba%2C%20Sherief%20El-Feky%20and%20Yasser%20AbdelGawad%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHealthTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2424.5%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlgebra%20Ventures%2C%20Global%20Ventures%2C%20MEVP%20and%20Delivery%20Hero%20Ventures%2C%20among%20others%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20500%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
