ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq on Sunday called on the United States and the United Kingdom to extradite government officials accused of theft of tax funds in what it dubs the “heist of the century”.
An investigation by the finance ministry in October last year concluded that $2.5 billion in tax funds were stolen from the General Commission of Taxes’ account at Baghdad's Rafidain Bank between September 2021 and August 2022.
A Baghdad court issued arrest warrants in March for four senior officials from former Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s government, including former finance minister Ali Allawi, Kadhimi’s political advisor Mushrik Abbas, his secretary Ahmed Najati, and the head of his office Raed Juhi, who reportedly reside outside the country.
“It is a crime for a thief to be assigned a public job, and we are trying to pressure some countries to extradite those accused of corruption," Haider Hanoun, head of the Iraqi Integrity Commission was cited by Iraqi state media as saying in a press conference on Sunday. State media said he called on United States, Britain, and the UAE to handover the suspects.
Hanoun said that Interpol had issued Red Notices against the suspects, adding that Jouhi and Najati hold American citizenship, while Allawi holds British nationality, and Mushrik resides in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally detain a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. It is not an international arrest warrant.
“The case of theft of tax funds is the biggest case of corruption which is mixed with treason," Hanoun said.
He stated that more than 48 individuals are involved in the "heist of the century." Some of these individuals are located in neighboring countries such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. Formal extradition requests have been made for their return to face charges.
Hundreds of millions of the embezzled money were recovered, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani announced in October, pledging that, “We will not leave out anyone or any name or any party involved, regardless of who they are, and the parties involved will be announced after completing the investigation.”
Since assuming the Iraqi premiership in October, Sudani has frequently reiterated his cabinet’s commitment to battling the endemic corruption that plagues the Iraqi state, and has not shied away from sacking numerous officials in high-level positions.
Iraq is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, according to Transparency International, which ranked it 157 out of 180 nations in 2022.
