Al-Sudani acknowledges the difficulties in recovering the money of the “theft of the century”: the main accused confessed to stealing more than a billion dollars
Al-Sudani acknowledges the difficulties in recovering the money of the “theft of the century”: the main accused confessed to stealing more than a billion dollars
12-21-2022
The Iraqi Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia al-Sudani, revealed the dismantling of oil smuggling networks in four Iraqi governorates, which include a number of security forces who contributed to providing protection for them, and while he revealed the arrest of more than 120 people involved in this file, he talked about new information regarding “theft Al-Qarn” related to tax secretariats, indicating that the main suspect in the case was accused of stealing more than one billion dollars, out of a total of 2.5 billion.
Al-Sudani stated in a press conference held on Monday evening, after the end of the cabinet session, that “oil smuggling is one of the big files that accompanied the conversation throughout previous years, and drains Iraq’s wealth,” noting that “the last outcome until today (yesterday evening) was completed.” The dismantling of smuggling networks in Baghdad, Basra, Diyala and Kirkuk, which resulted in the confiscation of one million 781 thousand and 971 liters, as well as the confiscation of 66 tanks.
He pointed out that «there is a network of some employees of the security services who carried out protection and facilitation work for the passage of these tanks», pointing out that «the arrest of 18 of them so far, and 14 fugitives from the security services. The number of those involved in smuggling operations who are not members of the security services and who were arrested is up to 121 accused.
According to Al-Sudani, “the smuggled quantities of oil derivatives, which were causing a crisis within the cities, in Diyala Governorate, amounted to two million liters per day, and in Basra Governorate, it was about five million and 600 thousand liters per day of oil derivatives subsidized by the public treasury.”
He revealed the involvement of dozens of security affiliates in oil smuggling networks in four governorates
In the file of judicial procedures related to “theft of tax guarantees” and the question that arises after the two-week deadline set by the accused in the pledge he made to the competent court judge, Al-Sudani affirmed, saying: “We have great confidence in the Iraqi judiciary and the court’s procedures in the process of recovering the stolen money in this case,” explaining that “The government, through its security services and the Integrity Commission as a monitoring institution, and the support team is following up on this file and communicating with the competent court, and we are all confident that the court will succeed in this case in accordance with the pledges made by the main defendant.”
And he stated that “there is a kind of complexity facing the process of recovering the sums, due to the diversity of these funds between assets and real estate that needs to be sold, especially since most of them are subject to seizure and everyone knows the difficulty of selling a seized property,” while pointing out that “the other section that faces the court in the recovery process is that The main accused has distributed the money between a group of banks and multiple personalities between the private sector and the like, and he is facing difficulty in the issue of recovering it. He added, “The competent judge follows up with the accused, and there are judicial orders issued against the abstaining persons, after presenting evidence proving that the main accused has transferred to them the sums that were part of the theft. The accused confessed to stealing the borders of one trillion and 600 billion dinars (more than a billion dollars).
And he added, “As a government, we will not give up holding the accused accountable first, and at the same time we prioritize recovering stolen public money. The money that was stolen is tax guarantees, and companies can review and claim them, and the government is forced to pay these amounts from public money, so the priority before us is how to recover the money, and the judiciary remains the legal and constitutional authority to hold those involved in this process accountable.
Al-Sudani went on to say: “We are in constant contact with the court’s procedures, and we have great confidence in the judicial procedures and the way it deals with the issue of recovering money. All guarantees are in place, and we assure everyone that no one will escape accountability, and there will never be a settlement at the expense of public money.
He referred to «the security team supporting the Supreme Commission for Combating Corruption, which was formed according to the law, headed by the Integrity Commission, and this is an advantage for the commission and the supporting team that it came in accordance with the law and differs from previous orders that were contrary to the constitutional and legal context. Work is continuing on all files, and there will be a maturation of these files and announcing them soon.
And the Iraqi Prime Minister believed that “fighting corruption is not promises, but rather a program voted on in the House of Representatives, and with the presence of political forces and parties, and therefore it is a commitment before the people and the House of Representatives, and everyone is at stake today in translating this program into a tangible practical reality in opening cases of administrative and financial corruption.” And holding those involved accountable and recovering public money,” considering that “fighting corruption is a popular demand on which popular demonstrations and protests were based. It was a national demand and was adopted by all political forces and the government committed to it, and the speaker is also committed to this process.” Al-Sudani stressed, “We cannot restore confidence between the people and the political process without real deterrent measures against corruption and corruptors, whoever they are. Otherwise, failure will be repeated for everyone without exception.
Regarding the file of the dollar’s rise in prices compared to the US dollar, and its repercussions on the market and the poor and middle-income classes, Al-Sudani explained that “recently, there has been a clear increase in dollar prices against the dinar in local markets and foreign remittances. The Central Bank, the authority concerned with monetary policy in the country, made it clear that the reason is due to a group of factors, including the bank’s direct operation of the electronic platform in which banks raise requests to increase their customers to the bank.
He added, “The Central Bank began building this platform months ago, in coordination with international bodies, for the purpose of provisions and regulation of the window for buying and selling foreign currency, and to ensure effective control over it.” Indeed, these remittances go to imported goods at real prices, and it is quite clear that this mechanism does not exist. There are fictitious companies and there are exaggerated prices, so these transfers were rejected by the intermediary banks.
He pointed out that “some of the remittances that were rejected are proven in the form of the purchase document (for example) the purchase of a refrigerator at a price of 4800 dollars, and a liter of oil is fixed at a price of 25 dollars. Which guarantees the stability of the market, especially with regard to foodstuffs. And Al-Sudani reassured that “the government has control over securing foodstuffs through the items of the ration card and even flour, as well as by controlling the prices of the local market,” revealing the government’s request to the Central Bank “to take quick steps to compensate for the shortfall in the dollar currency that occurs in the markets through Facilitating the availability of it for travelers and students for those who want to transfer.
And he continued: «The Board of Directors of the Central Bank took several decisions, including an encouraging decision to reduce the price of the dollar against the dinar for importers to cover the opening of documentary credits from 1455 dinars instead of 1460». to cover imports, and it will be announced in due course.” In addition to the bank’s decision, “reducing the exchange rate for dollars for electronic payment cards from 1470 dinars to the dollar to 1455.”
And he added: «The Central Bank took an important decision to open outlets for selling the dollar and implement commercial transfers to importers through government banks, and this flows into the issue of controlling prices».
Al-Sudani also talked about directing the Ministry of Commerce to “facilitate the procedures for issuing import licenses, and we also directed the Ministry of Finance to initiate urgent reform procedures in the customs and tax system at border crossings, while taking measures to eliminate the fears of some importers of the possibility of tax arbitrariness, and today we have a decision of the Council of Ministers in this regard. matter.”
And he believed that “Iraq’s financial situation today is at its best. The central bank’s reserves have reached the level of 96 billion dollars, and this is what enables the central bank to achieve stability in the exchange rate,” noting that “our vision is clear in that we invest in the current good financial situation to build a solid economic base.” and reduce total dependence on oil.
According to the Iraqi prime minister, “there is more than one program, policy and procedures for the government in the field of revitalizing and reforming the private sector from banks to be a strong supportive foundation for investment.”
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