Head of the Integrity Commission: There is no safe haven for looted funds or those wanted for justice.
The head of the Federal Integrity Commission, Mohammed Ali Al-Lami, confirmed on Thursday that there is no safe haven for looted funds or those wanted for justice, while indicating that the hand of justice is stronger than attempts to hide and smuggle funds, and that coordination between Baghdad and Ankara is sufficient to narrow the spaces for those wanted.
The head of the commission, Mohammed Ali Al-Lami, said in a statement that “Iraq and Turkey are moving towards translating the supreme political will between the two countries into decisive procedural steps in the files of justice and the recovery of funds and assets,” stressing that “cooperation between the two countries represents a practical path to pursue perpetrators of corruption and recover the money of the Iraqi people.”
During his visit to the Republic of Turkey and his meeting with Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and officials in the Ministry of Justice, the head of the commission added that “the visit to Ankara comes as an extension and culmination of the strategic understandings established by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and the accompanying delegation during his visit, and the high-level coordination with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,” indicating that “the commission is working to translate those understandings into practical and decisive measures in files related to justice and the recovery of funds and assets.”
Al-Lami highly valued the directives of the Turkish President to “accelerate the implementation of the joint understandings,” stressing that “there is no safe haven for looted funds or those wanted for justice in light of the sincere will of the two countries, and that the pursuit of corrupt individuals and the recovery of funds obtained from corruption crimes should not stop at national borders.”
He explained that “his discussions with the Turkish Vice President, Cevdet Yılmaz, and officials in the Turkish Ministry of Justice, in the presence of the Iraqi Ambassador in Ankara, Majid Al-Lajmawi, and a number of members of the Iraqi diplomatic mission, focused on establishing understandings and concrete points of contact that would facilitate and expedite the implementation of Iraqi judicial rulings related to the recovery of funds belonging to those accused and convicted of corruption cases who are present on Turkish soil,” stressing that “the Commission brought with it to Ankara files for the recovery of funds that have completed the procedures and is seeking, in cooperation with the Turkish side, to move them to the implementation stage.”
He pointed out that “the discussions also focus on institutionalizing cooperation between the two sides and opening direct communication channels between the Iraqi Integrity Commission and its counterparts in Turkey, which will contribute to overcoming obstacles and resolving outstanding issues in record time, and transform bilateral cooperation from general understandings into sustainable implementation mechanisms.”
The head of the commission stressed that “drying up the sources of corruption and pursuing its perpetrators does not stop at national borders,” noting that “Iraqi-Turkish cooperation presents a distinguished regional model that proves that the hand of justice is stronger than attempts to hide and smuggle money, and that the integration of efforts between the two countries is capable of narrowing the spaces for wanted individuals and the money obtained from corruption crimes.”
He pointed out that “protecting the movement of trade, investment and development agreed upon by the two countries requires a safe and clean environment free from corruption,” stressing that “recovering the money of the Iraqi people is an integral part of supporting reconstruction efforts and strengthening the economic partnership between Baghdad and Ankara.” EconomicReform analysis
Burathanews.com