The latest corruption news from Iraq – company or government bribes, theft, stealing – brought to you by Iraq Business News
By John Lee. Transparency International has said that Iraq has risen one place in its global Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). From at total of 175 countries, Iraq came in at number 170, slightly better than last year's position of 171. This result puts it ahead of countries such as Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Somalia (which […]
By John Lee. The son of former Iraqi Prime Minister and current Vice President Nouri al-Maliki has reportedly been arrested in Lebanon in possession of more than US $1.5 billion "in cash". BasNews cites Lebanese media sources as claiming that Ahmed al-Maliki is being detained in a prison on Beirut, and that Nouri al-Maliki has […]
By John Lee. An investigation into corruption in the Iraqi army has revealed 50,000 false names on its payroll. Known in the military as "ghost soldiers", they either did not exist or no longer reported for duty, but their salaries were still being paid, according to a report from BBC News. It is thought that […]
By Mustafa al-Kadhimi for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Talk of reforming the military and security institutions is no longer internal to Iraq, but is now an international demand that has attracted the attention of US Secretary of State John Kerry […]
PM Abadi’s political manoeuvres continued to lead to a number of dismissals within key ministries. On 01 December, the Prime Minister retired 24 senior Interior Ministry officials as part of government restructuring. This decision comes as central authorities uncovered an estimated 50,000 ‘ghost soldiers’ on the military payroll, prompting the government to take steps towards […]
By Shukur Khilkhal for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Each year, Arab TV stations compete to buy and broadcast dramatic productions from Egypt, Syria and Gulf counties. Yet, there is no demand for Iraqi drama, which is limited to local TV channels. It is […]
By John Lee. Afren announced today that Willkie Farr & Gallagher (UK) LLP (WFG) has completed its independent review into the receipt of unauthorised payments by members of management and senior employees. In connection with the conclusion of this review, the company has decided to terminate the employment and directorships of Osman Shahenshah and Shahid […]
By John Lee. Stuart Bowen, the former Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), has claimed that between $1.2 billion [1.4 trillion Iraqi dinars] and $1.6 billion [IQD 1.9 trillion] allocated for the reconstruction of Iraq was stolen and hidden in a bunker in Lebanon, as the American and Iraqi governments ignored appeals to recover […]
This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The ‘Astronaut’ Problem: Iraqi Soldiers Who Pay Money To Officers So They Don’t Fight The Iraqi army is suffering badly from what locals describe as the “astronaut phenomenon”. That is, […]
By John Lee. Iraqi Parliament Advisor for National Reconciliation, ex-MP Wihda al-Jumaili, has told Aswat Al Iraq that "financial corruption" was discovered in the use of funds allocated to the National Reconciliation Project. She added that "despite spending much money, the project is not alive". Jumaili said that great amounts of money were spent during […]
By John Lee. According to a report from Reuters, a US federal appeals court has rejected Iraq's effort to sue dozens of companies for allegedly conspiring with the Saddam Hussein regime to subvert the United Nations' oil-for-food programme and deprive Iraqi citizens of humanitarian aid. The court said Iraq's government could not recoup damages under […]
By John Lee. A bank account belonging to Zalmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. envoy to Iraq, and another belonging to his wife, Cheryl Benard, have been unfrozen by the high court in Vienna, Austria. According to a report from Bloomberg, the the accounts were unfrozen on 3rd September, a week before reports that the U.S. […]
