KTFA:

Samson:  Integrity clarifies the circumstances regarding the theft of 3.7 trillion dinars

16th October, 2022

The Federal Integrity Commission clarified the circumstances that accompanied the news of the theft of more than (3.7) trillion Iraqi dinars from the General Tax Authority, and the publication of a book by the Ministry of Finance entitled to the authority.

The authority, while talking about the book circulated by some media and social networking sites and issued by the Ministry of Finance entitled the Integrity Commission, stated that the authority confirms that the case has been investigated and is now before the judiciary, and it will accompany the information contained in the Ministry of Finance’s book after it is organized according to Minutes with investigative papers and deposited with the judiciary; for the latter to issue the appropriate decisions against the defaulters.

She added that the judiciary had previously issued summon orders against senior officials in the ministry regarding the loopholes that led to this major breach and the terrible abuse of public money, pointing out that the letter of the Ministry of Finance, which the authority was surprised to see leaked to the media, reached the authority at the end of the official working day on Thursday, corresponding to the third The tenth of this October, calling on the ministry to investigate the leakage of its book entitled to the commission.

The media and social networking sites had published a book issued by the Ministry of Finance entitled to the Integrity Commission regarding allegations of theft of tax deposits deposited in Al-Rafidain Bank amounting to (3.7) trillion Iraqi dinars.  LINK

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Samson:  Human Rights Center: The amount that was stolen from the secretariats of the Tax Authority will build 4,000 schools

16th October, 2022

The Vice President of the Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq, Lawyer Hazem Al-Rudaini, revealed that the sum of the two and a half billion dollars that was stolen from the General Authority for Taxes’ trust account in the Rafidain Bank is enough to build 4,000 modern schools

Al-Rudaini said in a statement, “The Iraqi citizen is beginning to not comprehend the amount of thefts that are taking place in the country,” noting that “if these numbers are converted into services, this amount is sufficient to build four thousand modern schools, or build forty thousand apartments that match Samaya’s apartments, or build a power station that suffices.” To equip three governorates instead of importing them from neighboring countries, or to pay the salaries of all employees, retirees and the social protection network for a whole month

He called on the Supreme Judicial Council, the government and the Integrity Commission to "swiftly take legal measures against everyone involved in stealing this huge amount and to preserve public money, and we demand that all measures be announced publicly  LINK

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Expert: The stolen amount represents the tax authority's revenue for 10 years

16th October, 2022

A professor of economics at Basra University, Nabil Al-Marsoumi, confirmed on Sunday that the stolen money from the Tax Authority is equivalent to the authority's revenues for 10 years, and is also equivalent to half of Syria's budget

A few days after the resignation of the technical finance minister, financial and banking specialist, professor at Harvard University, and expert in the World Bank, this man filled Iraq with his white paper and occupied the Iraqis a lot by devaluing the Iraqi dinar exchange rate while trying to reform the Iraqi economy at a time when he was unable to reform his ministry, which it has become the source of corruption in Iraq

Al-Marsoumi said in a post on his Facebook page that “the Minister of Oil, who performed the duties of the Minister of Finance, was not well versed or expert in the world of finance and banking, but he discovered the largest theft in the history of Iraq, worth 3.7 trillion dinars from the trust account of the Tax Authority in the Rafidain Bank by editing 247 checks to five Contracting and oil services companies from September 2021 to August 2022, through which this large amount of money was delegated from the account of the General Authority for Taxes to these companies

He added, "The strange thing in the matter is the short period of time during which the amounts were transferred to these companies, which amounted to only 11 months, in addition to the fact that whoever discovered corruption was exempted by Parliament from the duties of the Deputy Minister of Finance, and that the one who signed the book proving the existence of this theft He was the Director General of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Finance, and he was not from a high-level group or any of the specialized financial and banking cadres in the Ministry of Finance

He explained that "the large size of the stolen or wasted amount, which may represent tax revenues for 10 years, which is equivalent to approximately half of Syria's budget for 2022, puts us in front of several possibilities.

The second is that the amount was invested by the five companies in collusion with some employees of the Tax Authority and the Rafidain Bank. The third is that we are in front of an Indian movie that we have not seen before, and politics may play a major role in this scandal, which will enter the Guinness Book of Records   LINK

Samson:  Against the background of the theft of 3.5 trillion .. the judiciary issues an order to stop the disbursement of tax deposits

16th October, 2022

On Sunday, the Iraqi judiciary issued an order to stop the disbursement of tax deposits by the Ministry of Finance, against the background of the theft of 3.7 trillion dinars.

According to a document issued by the Presidency of the Baghdad / Al-Karkh Appeal Court, the second Karkh Investigation Court, dated August 21, seen by Shafak News Agency, the court informed the Office of the Minister of Finance to stop disbursing customs and tax deposits. She indicated that this matter came until the completion of the investigations and fundamental scrutiny of the case.

Earlier today, the Federal Integrity Commission clarified the circumstances that accompanied the news of the theft of more than 3.7 trillion Iraqi dinars from the General Tax Authority.

The commission indicated that the case was investigated and is now before the judiciary. It will accompany the information contained in the Ministry of Finance’s book after organizing it according to minutes with the investigative papers and depositing it with the judiciary. For the latter to issue the appropriate decisions against the defaulters.

 She added that the judiciary had previously issued summoning orders against senior officials in the ministry regarding the loopholes that led to this major breach and the outrageous abuse of public money.

Representatives and officials had previously revealed an estimated 3.7 trillion Iraqi dinars theft from the General Tax Authority, and investigative committees were formed, in turn, confirming the theft. LINK

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Samson: The presidency of the Iraqi parliament vows to hold accountable those involved in the theft of two and a half billion dollars

16th October, 2022

Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, the first deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament, vowed on Sunday to hold accountable those involved in stealing two and a half billion dollars in tax funds in Al-Rafidain Bank.

Al-Mandalawi said in a tweet on the social networking sites “Twitter” today, that what happened from the “looting” of the funds of the General Tax Authority, and the withdrawal of (2.5) billion dollars from the Rafidain Bank, will not pass easily. He pointed out that there is an upcoming account for all those involved in the process that is intended to demolish the state, destroy its economy and spread chaos, stressing that the House of Representatives will have a strict stance in the coming days.

For its part, the Parliamentary Integrity Committee announced that it had followed up the reports received about the process of losing an amount of 3.7 trillion Iraqi dinars from the General Tax Authority's trust account in the Rafidain Bank.

Committee member Vian Dakhil said in a statement today, that the committee will hold an extraordinary and urgent meeting, in which it will summon the Acting Minister of Finance, exempted Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar, Deputy Minister of Finance and General Director of the Tax Authority, the former and current, and the general manager of Rafidain Bank, as well as hosting the head of the Integrity Commission and the authorities.

All concerned and responsible, in order to verify the reasons for the loss of this huge amount. She noted that the committee will announce the results of summoning and hosting to public opinion immediately after the meeting, and will continue to monitor all investigation procedures.

On Saturday, Acting Finance Minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar announced the theft of an estimated two and a half billion dollars in tax funds from the Rafidain State Bank. Abdul-Jabbar, who is currently the Minister of Oil, tweeted on his Twitter account, "The Prime Minister graciously agreed to our request regarding exemption from the duties of the acting Ministry of Finance." He pointed out, "The results of the investigation that we directed after we were assigned to the ministry, and the official evidence of the theft of an amount of 3.7 trillion Iraqi dinars (2.5 billion dollars) in tax funds / Rafidain Bank by a specific group."

Abdul-Jabbar added that "it was handed over by the Ministry of Finance to the competent authorities, including the Parliamentary Finance Committee, which asked us to do so officially and in the media." The Minister of Oil said, "We did not submit to any pressure or bargaining to prevent us from performing our role in protecting public money."

Last Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted to terminate the assignment of Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar, Minister of Oil, from the position of Minister of Finance/Agency.

In mid-August, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, assigned Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar with the tasks of managing the Ministry of Finance as an agency. The decision to assign came after the approval of the resignation of Finance Minister Aslah Ali Abdul Amir Allawi.

Yesterday, the head of the Turkmen Front, Hassan Turan, announced the assignment of a woman to the component as the acting Iraqi Minister of Finance, instead of Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar, who occupies this position as acting in addition to being the original Minister of Oil. "We congratulate Tasnam, the first Turkmen woman of a sovereign ministry," Turan said in a brief statement. He added, "Ms. Hiyam Neama Koberlo is the Acting Minister of Finance."

It is noteworthy that the Parliamentary Integrity Commission has attached its statement with documents confirming the theft of an amount of two and a half billion dollars. Shafak News Agency, published by my agencies:  LINK

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Samson:  Al-Rafidain Bank distances itself from the issue of stealing billions of dinars from the tax account

16th October, 2022

On Sunday, Al-Rafidain State Bank distanced itself from stealing more than 3 trillion Iraqi dinars from the account of its General Tax Authority.

In a statement received by Shafaq News Agency, the bank's media office confirmed, in response to what is being circulated regarding the theft of sums of money from the account of the General Tax Authority in Rafidain Bank, that it "has nothing to do with any manipulation or theft that is being talked about, and that his task was limited to disbursing the bonds of the General Tax Authority from its branches after verifying the validity of their issuance in official letters between the bank and the authority. He explained that "what is being talked about recently is an issue related to the General Authority for Taxes and their bank accounts."

Al-Rafidain Bank stressed, "not to steal any sums of money from its branches, and indicates that it is committed to the mechanisms related to the anti-money laundering and terrorist financing law, and that the whole issue is being examined by the judiciary, and that the bank continues to cooperate with the competent authorities to reveal the facts."

The media and social networking sites had published a book issued by the Ministry of Finance entitled to the Integrity Commission regarding allegations of theft of tax deposits deposited in Al-Rafidain Bank amounting to (3.7) trillion Iraqi dinars.

Prime Minister-designate Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani commented on the incident and said, "We will never hesitate to take real measures to curb corruption, which has brazenly spread in the joints of the state and its institutions." ? He continued, "We have put this file in the first priority of our program, and we will not allow the Iraqis' money to be stolen, as happened with the funds of the General Tax Authority's trusts in the Rafidain Bank."

Today, Sunday, an Iraqi lawyer submitted a request to the Public Prosecution Authority to prevent the travel of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi and his government team outside the country until the completion of the investigation procedures on charges of financial and administrative corruption. LINK