عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Iraq Confirms, Probes Theft of $2.5 Billion from Tax Agency

The Iraqi parliament during the presidential election session on October 13, 2022. (EPA)
The Iraqi parliament during the presidential election session on October 13, 2022. (EPA)
TT
TT

Iraq Confirms, Probes Theft of $2.5 Billion from Tax Agency

The Iraqi parliament during the presidential election session on October 13, 2022. (EPA)
The Iraqi parliament during the presidential election session on October 13, 2022. (EPA)

With corruption being pervasive at all levels of government in Iraq, the vanishing of around $2.5 billion from a bank fund of Iraq’s General Tax Authority has emerged as one of the biggest scandals in the country’s recent history.

Many Iraqis believe that the theft, announced on Sunday, proves that corruption has ushered in total disregard for public funds.

Iraqi authorities, for their part, rushed to open an investigation to locate the missing funds. Although they announced a probe, Iraqi authorities did not reveal the identity of the suspects involved in the theft.

State news agency INA reported Saturday that an internal probe by the Finance Ministry found the money had been withdrawn from the agency’s account at a state-owned Rafidain bank.

The ministry has asked the government’s anti-corruption body to investigate, INA said, without naming the officials embroiled in the case.

Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar resigned from his position as Iraq’s acting finance minister after exposing the theft scandal.

Details leaked from the General Tax Authority reveal that the $2.5 billion were withdrawn between September 9, 2021, and August 11, 2022, by five companies who cashed cheques that add up to that amount.

Prime Minister Mohammad Shia Al-Sudani tweeted that this matter has been made one of the government’s top priorities, adding that he will not allow the Iraqi people’s money to be stolen.

“My government had already discovered this violation based on information and indications pointing to it,” said outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, adding that his administration moved swiftly to open investigations and proceed with needed legal procedures.

“All evidence and documents were handed over to the judiciary months ago. The judiciary, in turn, is moving forward with this case with high professionalism and calmness, away from the language of extortion and misleading populist rhetoric,” explained Kadhimi.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Israeli Rights Group Accuses Prison Authority of Failing Palestinian Prisoners after Scabies Outbreak

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir attends a discussion called on by the opposition on the release of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, Israel, 18 November 2024. (EPA)
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir attends a discussion called on by the opposition on the release of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, Israel, 18 November 2024. (EPA)
TT
TT

Israeli Rights Group Accuses Prison Authority of Failing Palestinian Prisoners after Scabies Outbreak

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir attends a discussion called on by the opposition on the release of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, Israel, 18 November 2024. (EPA)
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir attends a discussion called on by the opposition on the release of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, Israel, 18 November 2024. (EPA)

An Israeli rights group said Monday that more than a quarter of all Palestinian prisoners currently held by Israel had contracted scabies since an outbreak was identified in May, and accused the prison authority of improper care and prevention.

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel said that more than 2,800 prisoners had caught the rash-like infection, with more than 1,700 still actively infected. The outbreak was seen in five different detention facilities, the group said. It was citing figures it said came from the Israel Prison Service.

The group said it filed a legal petition calling on the prison service “to eradicate the scabies epidemic,” accusing the authorities of failing “to implement widely recognized medical interventions necessary to contain the outbreak.”

It said that it halted the legal proceedings after it received a commitment from the prison service to address the outbreak. The prison service said the court had cancelled the petition because the prisons had shown they were dealing with the outbreak in a “systematic and thorough” way.

Nadav Davidovich, an Israeli public health expert who wrote a medical analysis for the group’s court proceedings, said the outbreak was a result of overcrowding in prisons and apparent neglect from prison authorities. He said such outbreaks could be prevented if prisoners were held “in more reasonable conditions.” If the first infections were treated as needed, such an outbreak could have been avoided, he said.

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel also said that the Israel Prison Service had cited scabies as a reason for postponing lawyers' visits and court appearances for prisoners. It said those steps “violate prisoners’ rights and serve as punitive measures rather than public health responses.”

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the prisons, has boasted about hardening conditions to the bare minimum required by law.