Beyond the borders… Will “Operation Dawn” break the international protection umbrella for the corrupt?
Beyond the borders… Will “Operation Dawn” break the international protection umbrella for the corrupt?
6-30-2026
Information / Special:
International affairs expert Hussein Al-Asaad confirmed on Tuesday that corrupt individuals possess significant capabilities to smuggle illicit funds out of the country and legitimize them through complex fraudulent means and methods, noting the existence of international networks and mafias that assist in these operations.
Al-Asaad told Al-Maalouma that “there are international and global mafias specializing in facilitating the smuggling of illicit funds,” as these funds reach “global banks through seemingly legal means, while those banks benefit from their influx to strengthen their financial reserves,” and that “many countries are keen to preserve the capital that enters them.”
He added that “many corrupt individuals have external connections and relationships, some of which have contributed to weakening the Iraqi economy and harming state institutions.”
Al-Asaad explained that “the extradition of wanted persons is subject to bilateral relations and joint agreements between countries, whether related to the extradition of accused persons or the exchange of prisoners, while Iraq does not have agreements with a number of countries, which makes the extradition of corrupt individuals located in them more difficult.”
The international expert pointed out that “the post-2003 period witnessed a regional race to interfere in Iraqi affairs, through supporting political figures who worked to consolidate the influence of those countries within Iraq,” indicating that “some of these figures are facing major corruption cases today.”
He added that “a number of those accused of corruption have taken refuge in the countries that supported them after their files were exposed, and it is not expected that those countries will hand them over, because they provide them with protection based on their political interests, which makes the extradition of political figures accused of corruption extremely difficult.”
Al-Asaad pointed out that “there are challenges facing the work of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), most notably the length of legal procedures, as well as the influence of some countries’ policies on the mechanisms for implementing arrest warrants and extradition, which makes Iraq’s task of extraditing individuals accused of corruption more difficult.”
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