Iraq announces it has recovered part of $2.5 billion stolen from tax authorities after corruption scandal

Iraq is back “a part” On Sunday, November 27, the Prime Minister announced that $2.5 billion had been fraudulently withdrawn from the tax bank account. During a televised speech, Mohamed Zia Al Soudani called on anyone involved in the scandal to surrender and return stolen public funds.

The case, released in mid-October, sparked outrage in a country rich in oil and plagued by endemic corruption. The document from the General Tax Administration explained that these 2.5 billion dollars were deducted between September 2021 and August 2022 through 247 checks by five companies. Cash was withdrawn from the accounts of these companies, whose owners, often fugitives, were the subject of arrest warrants.

The prime minister said that one of the businessmen involved in the case, Noor Zuhair Jasem, returned only $125 million of the billion he owed. “agreed” Receiving. The head of government said the businessman would be released on bail, in exchange for which he would return the stolen money within two weeks.

Tax authorities and public control bodies are involved, the prime minister admitted, noting their identity. “It will be known at the end of the investigation.”. “We will leave no one behind”He promised.