عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Iraq Negotiates with the US to Repatriate ‘Heist of the Century’ Suspects

The Parliamentary Integrity Commission in one of its meetings (the Commission's website)
The Parliamentary Integrity Commission in one of its meetings (the Commission's website)
TT
TT

Iraq Negotiates with the US to Repatriate ‘Heist of the Century’ Suspects

The Parliamentary Integrity Commission in one of its meetings (the Commission's website)
The Parliamentary Integrity Commission in one of its meetings (the Commission's website)

The Iraqi Parliamentary Integrity Commission announced that the Iraqi judiciary is in talks with its US counterpart to repatriate suspects involved in the theft of public funds, dubbed the "heist of the century”.

In a press statement, Deputy Chairwoman Alia Nusayif said that the Commission and the national judiciary are coordinating with the Interpol to arrest individuals accused of embezzling tax revenues.

Nusayif added that the Iraqi judiciary is in discussions with its US counterpart to arrest those accused of the theft and extradite them to Iraq. She indicated that two of the defendants hold US citizenship.

The head of the Iraqi Integrity Commission, Judge Haider Hannon, had previously called on the US and the UK to extradite officials accused of embezzling tax revenues.

Hannon pressed relevant US and UK authorities to act upon arrest warrants issued against the suspects per Article 316 of the amended Iraqi Penal Code No. 111 of 1969.

He also called on the UAE to hand over the political advisor to the Prime Minister of the previous government, who currently resides on its territory. He requested Türkiye's assistance to extradite a former employee and his wife, previously associated with the Federal Integrity Commission.

-Defendants and bails

Former Iraqi Minister of Oil, Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar, and the Acting Minister of Finance in the government of former Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi were the first to uncover the "heist of the century."

Several red arrest warrants were issued against Kadhimi's team amid accusations of embezzlement and illicit enrichment.

The Iraqi judiciary did not issue a red arrest warrant with the help of Interpol to pursue Abdul Jabbar. However, an Iraqi court issued an order to seize his assets.

Shortly before the end of the term of Kadhimi, Abdul-Jabbar announced the embezzlement of taxes estimated at $2.5 billion deposited in the Rafidain Bank. He then announced his resignation from the position of Acting Minister of Finance.

Uncovering the theft, which turned into a public opinion issue, did not acquit Abdul-Jabbar, who was later accused of illicit enrichment.

-Arresting Zuhair

Former Interior Minister Othman al-Ghanimi announced that a unit arrested the main suspect of embezzling tax revenues, Nour Zuhair, the head of one of the five companies involved in the case.

Ghanimi told the media that Zuhair was arrested at the Baghdad International Airport before he escaped on his private jet. However, he was later released on bail after an agreement aiming to recover the funds that he admitted to seizing, estimated at approximately $1.25 billion.

Shortly after assuming his position as Prime Minister, Mohammad Shiaa al-Sudani appeared surrounded by hundreds of millions of dollars and Iraqi dinars to announce the first operations to recover the stolen funds.

-Awaiting the Interpol

The Iraqi government seeks to open corruption files, including recovering smuggled funds and repatriating wanted persons accused of embezzling public money.

The charges include senior government officials, and the judiciary issued contradictory positions towards the defendants.

The Iraqi public questions the validity of the red arrest warrants against the accused outside the country, which may not receive the required response from their countries of residence.

Several suspects hold dual citizenship, and some countries fear political revenge against some since the Iraqi political parties have not finally agreed to identify the main accused and the evidence that convicts them.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

UNRWA Says ‘Growing Concerns’ Annexation behind Israeli West Bank Operation

An Israeli military vehicle is seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 04 March 2025. (EPA)
An Israeli military vehicle is seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 04 March 2025. (EPA)
TT
TT

UNRWA Says ‘Growing Concerns’ Annexation behind Israeli West Bank Operation

An Israeli military vehicle is seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 04 March 2025. (EPA)
An Israeli military vehicle is seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 04 March 2025. (EPA)

A major offensive in the occupied West Bank which over several weeks has displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians and ravaged refugee camps increasingly appears to be part of Israel's "vision of annexation", a UN official told AFP.

Israeli forces carry out regular raids targeting gunmen in the West Bank, occupied since 1967, but the ongoing operation since late January is already the longest in two decades, with dire effects on Palestinians.

"It's an unprecedented situation, both from a humanitarian and wider political perspective," said Roland Friedrich, director of West Bank affairs for UNRWA, the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees.

"We talk about 40,000 people that have been forcibly displaced from their homes" in the northern West Bank, mainly from three refugee camps where the operation had begun, said Friedrich.

"These camps are now largely empty," their residents unable to return and struggling to find shelter elsewhere, he said.

Inside the camps, the level of destruction to "electricity, sewage and water, but also private houses" was "very concerning", Friedrich added.

The Israeli operation, which the military says targets gunmen in the northern West Bank, was launched shortly after a truce took hold in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, a separate Palestinian territory.

The operation initially focused on Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps, where UNRWA operates, but has since expanded to more areas of the West Bank's north.

Friedrich warned that as the offensive drags on, there are increasing signs -- some backed by official Israeli statements -- that it could morph into permanent military presence in Palestinian cities.

"There are growing concerns that the reality being created on the ground aligns with the vision of annexation of the West Bank," he said.

- 'Political operation' -

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has said troops would remain for many months in the evacuated camps to "prevent the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism".

And Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right politician who lives in one of dozens of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, has said that Israel would be "applying sovereignty" over parts of the territory in 2025.

According to Friedrich, "the statements we are hearing indicate that this is a political operation. It is clearly being said that people will not be allowed to return."

Last year the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion saying that Israel's prolonged presence in the West Bank was unlawful.

Away from home, the displaced Palestinian residents also grapple with a worsening financial burden.

"There is an increasing demand now, especially in Jenin, for public shelter, because people can't pay these amounts for rent anymore," said Friedrich.

"Everyone wants to go back to the camps."

The UN official provided examples he said pointed to plans for long-term Israeli presence inside Palestinian cities, which should be under the control of the Palestinian Authority (PA).

"In Tulkarem you have more and more reports about the army just walking around... asking shop owners to keep the shops open, going out and issuing traffic tickets to cars, so almost as if there is no Palestinian Authority," said Friedrich.

"It is very worrying, including for the future of the PA as such and the investments made by the international community into building Palestinian institutions."

The Ramallah-based PA was created in the 1990s as a temporary government that would pave the way to a future sovereign state.

- 'Radicalization' -

UNRWA is the main humanitarian agency for Palestinians, but a recent law bars the agency from working with the Israeli authorities, hindering its badly needed operations.

"It's much more complicated for us now because we can't speak directly to the military anymore," said Friedrich.

"But at the same time, we continue to do our work," he said, assessing needs and coordinating "the actual emergency response on the ground".

Israeli lawmakers had passed the legislation against UNRWA's work over accusations that it had provided cover for Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip -- claims the UN and many donor governments dispute.

The prolonged Israeli operation could have long-term consequences for residents, particularly children traumatized by the experience of displacement, Friedrich warned.

"If people can't go back to the camp and we can't reopen the schools... clearly, that will lead to more radicalization going forward."

He said the situation could compound a legitimacy crisis for the PA, often criticized by armed Palestinian factions for coordinating security matters with Israel.

Displaced Palestinians "feel that they are kicked out of their homes and that nobody is supporting them", said Friedrich.

A "stronger international response" was needed, he added, "both to provide humanitarian aid on the ground, and secondly, to ensure that the situation in the West Bank doesn't spin out of control".