Iraq advances in the fight against corruption.. a leap in the global ranking
Iraq advances in the fight against corruption.. a leap in the global ranking
2025/02/23
The head of the Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq, Fadhel Al Gharawi, confirmed today, Sunday, that Iraq ranked 148th globally in combating corruption.
Al-Gharawi said in a statement received by {Euphrates News} a copy of it, that: “Iraq witnessed remarkable progress in combating corruption during the period between August 2023 and July 2024, according to what was shown by the second report of the program to follow up on trials of major corruption cases, which was prepared by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in cooperation with the Supreme Judicial Council.”
He added, “The year 2024 witnessed the follow-up of 170 cases before the Central Criminal Court for Combating Corruption, compared to 150 cases in 2023, which reflects a 13% increase in the number of cases under consideration, and 80 rulings issued by the criminal and misdemeanor courts of integrity were reviewed, bringing the total number of cases followed up and reviewed to 250 cases.”
Regarding the number of convictions, Al-Gharawi said, “The number of convicted defendants increased from 231 defendants in 2023 to 371 defendants in 2024, an increase of 140 defendants, or 60.6%. The number of convictions also increased from 63 to 73, an increase of 10, or 15.9%.”
He explained that “the number of cases returned to investigation decreased from 21 cases in 2023 to 19 cases in 2024, and the number of cases returned for retrial decreased from 10 cases to only 4 cases. In addition, trials in absentia witnessed a significant decrease, reaching 19 cases (11%) compared to 32 cases (21%) in 2023.”
Al-Gharawi pointed out that “according to the report, the cases under consideration included a number of ministries and government agencies, with the Ministry of Industry and Minerals topping the list with 28 cases, followed by the Ministry of Finance with 17 cases, and the Baghdad Municipality with 14 cases, in addition to 12 cases in the Ministry of Justice, while 8 cases were registered against the Investment Authority.”
He explained that “65% of the cases were concentrated in Baghdad, where the number of cases increased from 72 cases in the first year to 111 cases in the second year. Anbar Governorate also entered the list of registered cases with 13 cases, while other governorates such as Babil, Nineveh, and Karbala witnessed an increase in registered cases.
” Al-Gharawi praised “the measures taken by the government, the Judicial Council, the Integrity Commission, and the oversight bodies, calling for legislative reforms that include expanding the definition of corruption crimes to include influence peddling and bribery in the private sector, enhancing transparency and accountability in institutions that suffer from high rates of corruption, and implementing an electronic case management system to facilitate procedures and improve efficiency.”
alforatnews.iq
