Iraqi prime minister says fraction of stolen $2.5 billion retrieved
Iraq has recovered "part" of $2.5 billion in public funds fraudulently withdrawn from a government account, the prime minister said on Sunday, calling on guilty parties to hand themselves in and return all the money.
Mohammed Shia Al Sudani said a wealthy businessman implicated in the theft from tax authorities had given back $125 million out of more than $1 billion that he "confessed" to having received.
Businessman Nour Zuhair Jassem will be subject to an assets freeze and released on condition of recovering the remaining funds within two weeks, Sudani added.
The scandal has provoked widespread ire in Iraq, an oilrich country ravaged by endemic corruption.
According to a document from the country's tax authority, the colossal sum was allegedly expropriated between September 2021 and August this year through 247 cheques cashed by five enterprises.
The money was subsequently withdrawn from the companies' accounts, the document showed. The owners of those accounts — most of whom are on the run — are subject to arrest warrants.
"The competent authorities have been able to retrieve a first tranche amounting to 182.6 billion Iraqi dinars," equating to more than $125 million, Sudani said. His comments came during a live address.
Jassem was arrested late last month at Baghdad airport when he tried to leave the country on a private jet, authorities said at the time.
The prime minister said the judiciary had reached an agreement with the accused that he return all the money.
Another suspect, who was arrested in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, is the subject of proceedings to transfer him to Baghdad.