Iraq defines mechanisms for recovering smuggled funds abroad
Iraq defines mechanisms for recovering smuggled funds abroad
September 17, 2021 2:57 PM
Mubasher: The Parliamentary Integrity Committee identified, today, Friday, the methods of recovering the smuggled funds outside Iraq, while the funds smuggled abroad were divided into two parts.
Committee member Sabah Talobi told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): “There is a committee on the issue of recovering looted funds and it is reinforced by the issuance of a law (from where did you get this?), which had an important impact.”
He indicated that in the next stage, there will be important laws in many matters related to domestic funds, while foreign funds are divided into two parts: pre-2003 funds and post-2003 funds.
He added that “the money before 2003 is very difficult to obtain, as it came out of Iraq belonging to Iraqi citizens who left during the time of the previous regime, and went out to international banks in their personal names, so it is very difficult to pursue these funds, as they are personal funds of an ordinary person.”
And the committee member continued: “We need to reveal them through several things, for example, renewing identities as they have more than one nationality, renewing them and returning them to Iraq. In addition, we have other things, such as ships in some ports and others.”
He pointed out that “the money after 2003 and smuggled outside the country, requires real effort, high-level investigators, and effective intelligence intervention, and it is possible to pursue them and follow up on their families, given that these people were occupying positions within the Iraqi government and fled with these funds.”
The member of the committee pointed out that “the return of smuggled funds outside Iraq needs international agreements, especially that European countries receive a lot of smuggled funds, which annually exceed more than 100 billion dollars or 100 billion euros, through smuggling,” noting that “some countries reinforce this situation.” By giving them citizenship, given that they support the economy of those countries.
He explained that “the task of recovering the looted funds is a very difficult task, and there are some ideas that were presented that need a lot of explanations.”
Last Wednesday, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi confirmed that the Anti-Corruption Committee had disclosed files that had not been disclosed for 17 years.
mubasher.info
