Iron Hands… Has Iraq begun its “complex” war on corruption?

Iron Hands… Has Iraq begun its “complex” war on corruption?

1-4-2023

The Federal Integrity Commission intensified its investigation and inspection procedures against the former governor of Basra , Majid al-Nasrawi, on charges of wasting public money, confirming that the fugitive accused had to surrender to the Commission’s Investigation Directorate in the province, and he was arrested pending investigation.

Observers believe that Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al- Sudani is taking steady steps to confront this phenomenon, which is the biggest scourge that threatens the Iraqi state after terrorism , stressing that financial and administrative corruption and waste of public money is a cancer pervading the body of society and represents a real disaster at the level of the Iraqi economy, as it is considered a drain on resources. Finance from the public treasury, which suffers from a chronic deficit.

Case details

Speaking about the details of the case that it investigated and referred to the judiciary, the Investigation Department of the Commission stated that the Basra Investigation Directorate affiliated with the Commission for Investigation and Inspection moved to implement the arrest warrant issued against the former governor of Basra, and upon raiding the home of the fugitive suspect, the latter turned himself in to the Directorate.

And she added that the Basra investigation judge, who specializes in examining integrity issues, and after reviewing the statements of the legal representative of the Basra governorate, the administrative investigation and the investigative papers of the Commission’s Investigation Directorate in the province, decided to arrest the accused pending investigation in the case.

She added that the arrest warrant issued based on the provisions of Article (340) of the Penal Code came as a result of a charge of wasting public money amounting to 23 billion dinars (about 16 million dollars), indicating that the waste resulted from exempting the Indian company (Bamboosh) from taxes and customs fees for a project to prepare Studying and amending designs prepared for the implementation of networks and stations of rainwater and heavy water, with the establishment of a heavy water treatment project for Abu al-Khasib district.

With an iron fist

The head of the Federal Integrity Commission, Judge Haider Hanoun, pledged at the end of last year not to compliment the corrupt and to strike with an iron fist on their elders, regardless of their affiliations.

The commission stated in a statement that Judge Hanoun met with the staff of the commission’s investigation directorates and offices in Baghdad and the provinces on the sidelines of the activities of the National Integrity Week, and urged to work with a tireless national faith and watch over the interests of the people and the country, pointing out that “the investigations and investigations of the commission, if they lead to the arrival of The corrupt are behind bars and remove them from the job, as it will contribute to creating a decent life for the citizen and economic stability.”

Hanoun stressed, according to the statement, “the need to exert their utmost efforts in the cases they work on, strive diligently and sincerely to investigate and investigate cases of administrative and financial corruption, and to provide emerging evidence upon which the investigating judges can issue appropriate decisions against the corrupt.”

He pointed out that “work in the field of combating corruption contributes to creating a happy life for the citizen, providing his strength and providing job opportunities, and also contributes to eliminating drugs, unemployment and poverty, especially since many negative phenomena and crimes result from corruption that impedes reconstruction, investment and the provision of job opportunities, which in turn leads to delinquency of some members of society.”

He emphasized that “his work methodology in managing the commission is based on the principle of reward and punishment,” praising the elements with competence and integrity that were able to complete solid investigations that led to putting the corrupt behind bars. He stressed the necessity of punishing the bad elements or those who prove their negligence and deporting them outside the commission.

For their part, the directors and employees of the commission’s investigation directorates and offices reviewed some of the “obstacles that hinder their work and procedures that may lead to a slowdown in the completion of criminal cases,” noting the mismatch between the number of cases considered by the commission and the numbers of its investigative and auditing staff and the elements of its investigation, pledging to pursue all manifestations of corruption. From embezzlement, bribery and bargaining, and apprehending the perpetrators of the crime red-handed.

Types of corruption

On the other hand, the President of the Federal Supreme Court, Judge Jassim Muhammad Abboud, said that corruption in Iraq is of two types, large and small, adding, “Small corruption is what is committed by junior employees, and leads to the loss of confidence of the Iraqi citizen in the public office, so when the Iraqi citizen goes to any of the state departments He is being blackmailed in order to complete his transaction.”

Abboud continued, “As for the great corruption, it is the one that is committed by senior officials or some political parties, and this corruption is what impedes state building,” noting that “the lack of a real national strategy and intention to fight corruption is behind the failure to put an end to it, and when there is a political intention to end it.” Corruption will end.”

In addition, political researcher Ali Al-Baydar stressed that the anti-corruption file must transcend all partisan and factional considerations, noting that “arresting, arresting and holding the corrupt accountable is a good thing, but the most important thing is recovering the stolen money.”

According to the political researcher, there are supposed to be measures to deter corruption, but it has moved from being a functional behavior to becoming a societal culture, and today Iraqi society accepts the corrupt person and deals with him comfortably and does not know that he is the one who squandered the country’s revolutions and capabilities, indicating that there is laxity regarding With previous anti-corruption measures, the cases were taking a turn related to the liquidation of opponents, the weakening of parties and the marginalization of others.

Al-Baydar expressed his desire for the anti-corruption file to be absolute and not stop at certain borders, for everyone to be held accountable, and for deterrent measures to be taken to know where the money went and in which aspect it was squandered, stressing the need to inform the Iraqi street of all these steps so that state institutions can obtain Public support that contributes to spreading the culture of transparency within society.

Al-Baydar believes that “the current procedures are classic in contrast to the extraordinary capabilities of the corrupt in terms of evasion and manipulation. There are certain units, institutions or local administrations in which we find the pyramid of corruption moving from the simple employee to the head of the institution, and in this case we cannot control and eliminate corruption by traditional methods, as international experiences must be sought in this aspect, even if this matter requires bringing in companies to find out where The money is gone and how to get it back.

crouching cancer

In addition, the economic researcher, Bassam Raad, described financial and administrative corruption and the waste of public money as a cancer pervading the body of society, and represents a real disaster for the Iraqi economy, as it is considered a drain on financial resources from the public treasury, which is already suffering from a chronic deficit. Therefore, the arrest of a former governor, Ali Khalifa, wasted money before. The Integrity Commission is a commendable effort.

Raad called for a popular and media role supporting the Integrity Commission’s procedures in combating financial and administrative corruption and preventing waste of public money, indicating that the manifestations of financial corruption are among the negative factors that impede the wheel of economic development and curb the rate of economic growth, and thus this negatively affects the creation of job opportunities. New and increased unemployment among young people.

Raad added that “wasting public money in astronomical amounts requires concerted efforts between the regulatory agencies and citizens, and that control over the spending of public money be tight, as any economic crisis that may occur in the future will affect all the people of the country, because the negative effects of corruption are represented in the increase in the cost of projects.” The public sector and its low quality, in addition to wasting the principle of equal opportunity, disrupting market mechanisms, and stopping the wheel of domestic and foreign investment, which negatively affects social justice and thus raises the degree of popular discontent.

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