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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)
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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State news agency INA reported Saturday that an internal probe by the Finance Ministry found the money had been withdrawn from the agency’s account at a state-owned Rafidain bank.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Details leaked from the General Tax Authority reveal that the $2.5 billion were withdrawn between September 9, 2021, and August 11, 2022, by five companies who cashed cheques that add up to that amount.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.

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Report: Western Powers Warn Syria over Foreign Fighters in Army

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters in Damascus. (Reuters)
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters in Damascus. (Reuters)
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Report: Western Powers Warn Syria over Foreign Fighters in Army

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters in Damascus. (Reuters)
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters in Damascus. (Reuters)

US, French and German envoys have warned Syria's new rulers that their appointment of foreign fighters to senior military posts is a security concern and bad for their image as they try to forge ties with foreign states, two sources familiar with the matter said.

The warning from the US, part of Western efforts to get Syria's new leaders to reconsider the move, was delivered in a meeting between US envoy Daniel Rubinstein and Syria's de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday at the presidential palace overlooking Damascus, a US official said.

"These appointments will not help them with their reputation in the US," the official said.

The foreign ministers of France and Germany, Jean-Noel Barrot and Annalena Baerbock, also broached the issue of foreign fighters drafted into the army during their meeting with Sharaa on Jan. 3, an official aware of the talks said.

Reuters reported the appointments on Dec. 30. The envoys' comments on the appointments have not previously been reported.

Sharaa's armed group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led an offensive that ousted former president Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8 and has since installed a government and disbanded the Assad-era army. It is now making efforts to reconstitute the armed forces.

Late last year, it made nearly 50 appointments including at least six foreign fighters, among them Chinese and central Asian Uyghurs, a Turkish citizen, an Egyptian and a Jordanian, Reuters reported at the time.

Three were given the rank of brigadier-general and at least three others the rank of colonel, a Syrian military source said.

HTS and allied groups have hundreds of foreign fighters in their ranks who came to Syria during the country's 13-year civil war, many of them followers of hardline interpretations of Islam.

Foreign capitals generally view foreign fighters as a key security threat as they suspect that some may seek to carry out attacks in their home countries after gaining experience abroad.

Officials of the new Syrian administration have said foreign fighters made sacrifices to help overthrow Assad and would have a place in Syria, adding they could be granted citizenship.

The Syrian defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment. The German foreign ministry did not comment.

A State Department spokesperson said Washington is in a continuing dialogue with the interim authorities in Damascus.

"Discussions have been constructive and have covered a wide range of domestic and international issues," the spokesperson said, adding there has been "tangible progress on counter-terrorism priorities, including ISIS."

The US official and a Western source said that Damascus explained the appointments of foreign fighters by saying they could not simply be sent back home or abroad where they may face persecution, and it was better to keep them in Syria.

The US official said authorities also explained that these people had helped rid Syria of Assad and some had been in the country for more than 10 years and so were part of society.