Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al Sudani announced Sunday the recovery of some of the money stolen from the country’s tax funds, in what the national media described as the «robbery of the century.»
The theft was announced in October by Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar, who explained that an investigation by the Finance Ministry, the portfolio he headed until his resignation this week, had revealed that «a specific group,» without giving details, had made off with 3.7 trillion (with a ‘b’) Iraqi dinars, about 2.5 billion euros, in a fund of the national tax authority in the Rafidain bank.
At a press conference, Al Sudani reported the recovery of 182 billion Iraqi dinars, about 120 million euros, and recalled that «investigative commissions have been formed to audit the instruments disbursed from the tax deposits».
For the time being, Al Sudani has limited himself to pointing out «bodies within the Tax Authority and other supervisors and responsible persons who facilitated the theft of money».
«After completing the investigations, we will unveil those who facilitated the theft of deposits,» he guaranteed in statements carried by the official Iraqi news agency, INA.
The Finance Ministry issued a lengthy statement detailing the scandal and confirming the arrest of some of the accused officials while the General Tax Commission confirmed that it had ordered the seizure of the assets of five of its senior officials involved in the case.
However, the results of the investigation are still not fully known and the money remains unaccounted for, to the indignation of the UN Special Representative for Iraq, Jeanine Hennis Plasschaert, who has called on the Iraqi authorities to recover the embezzled $2.5 billion.
«Do you know what Iraq could have done with the billions now missing? Invest in schools, hospitals, energy, water or roads,» he made known on his Twitter account «Recover these funds and return them to their rightful owners. Support the government in its investigations. Ensure accountability.»
