Interpol to help Iraq fight corruption, retrieve stolen money Read more: Interpol to
Interpol to help Iraq fight corruption, retrieve stolen money
urdistan Region – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi met with Interpol Secretary-General Jurgen Stock on Tuesday to discuss strengthening ties in the fight against corruption and terrorism, according to an official statement.
“In the meeting, exchange of experience, building capacity [for] information crimes, social media, money laundering and terrorism, and working with Iraq in its campaign for retrieving smuggled money and fleeing offenders were discussed,” read a statement published on the Iraqi prime minister’s website.
Interpol played an important role in the extradition of the ex-Iraqi trade minister Falah al-Sudani from Lebanon to Iraq on January 25.
An Iraqi court sentenced Sudani to 21 years in jail earlier this month for his role in a corruption scandal connected to Iraq’s food rations program.
Berlin-based monitor Transparency International recently ranked Iraq 169th out of a list of 180 countries for corruption in its latest report. Syria ranked 178th, Iran came in at number 130, Turkey was 81st.
Abadi has vowed to fight corruption, calling it a threat no less dangerous than ISIS. He has also expressed concern about corruption the Kurdistan Region, citing it as a reason for delaying payment of civil servant salaries.
Vast amounts of money remain unaccounted for after ISIS seized swathes of the country in 2014. A report published by the Central Bank of Iraq last year estimated the group had stolen $101 million and 856.5 billion Iraqi dinars ($727.6 million) from banks across its territories – almost $830 million in total.
Iraq declared victory over ISIS in December 2017, but a number of fighters and possible sleeper cells remain at large. The statement said the Iraqi leader and Interpol chief discussed working together to hunt down fugitive offenders.