Al-Kadhimi opens fire on “clowns” and “mercenaries” after accusations of “theft of the century”
Al-Kadhimi opens fire on “clowns” and “mercenaries” after accusations of “theft of the century”
2024-11-28
Shafaq News/ The media office of former Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi issued a statement today, Thursday, rejecting statements made by a parliamentarian, which linked Al-Kadhimi to the theft of tax deposits, or what is known as the “theft of the century.”
The statement stated that “these accusations, which are being espoused by the parliamentarian and well-known political parties behind him, have no connection to the truth, and are part of a campaign that has been ongoing for months aimed at distorting Al-Kadhimi’s image and belittling his experience as prime minister.”
He added, “All the allegations raised in this context are exposed in their goals and methods, and the facts and evidence have repeatedly proven their falsity.”
The media office pointed out that the so-called “theft of the century” has become “a means for some parties to divert attention away from the actual thieves, and that the continued media coverage of this issue without real evidence is a farce aimed at attracting the spotlight and stirring up public opinion, instead of focusing on the facts.”
He pointed out that “Al-Kadhimi’s government made great efforts to reveal the facts related to this issue, despite the enormous pressures it was subjected to to hide or distort the facts.”
The media office also stressed that “the judiciary has exclusive authority to accuse, far from platforms of blackmail, fabrication and distortion, which have unfortunately become a profession practiced by many who have become part of the political scene, which was superior to these mercenaries.”
This comes after the Iraqi judiciary ruled in resolving the lawsuits related to the crime of “tax deposits”, or what is known in the media as the “theft of the century”, to imprison the first main defendant, Nour Zuhair, for 10 years, and to imprison Raed Juhi (the former director of the office of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, currently residing outside Iraq), and a number of employees convicted of the crime, and to imprison former member of the House of Representatives, Haitham Al-Jubouri, for 3 years.
The “theft of the century” is represented by the disappearance of 3.7 trillion Iraqi dinars, equivalent to about two and a half billion dollars, from tax trust funds, which was revealed by relevant authorities about two months before the end of the term of the previous Iraqi government headed by Mustafa Al-Kadhimi.
In 2023, an official letter issued by the Tax Authority revealed that an amount of $2.5 billion was withdrawn between September 2021 and August 2022 from the government-owned Rafidain Bank, through 247 financial checks, issued to five companies, which disbursed them directly in cash.
Following the discovery of the theft, the Integrity Commission and the Judiciary moved to investigate the case, and judicial arrest warrants were issued since then, as a result of which Zuhair was arrested.
shafaq.com
