The latest corruption news from Iraq – company or government bribes, theft, stealing – brought to you by Iraq Business News
The following article was written by Ali Al-Mawlawi, an Iraqi research fellow at Baghdad-based independent think tank, the Iraqi Institute for Economic Reform. It was published by openDemocracy, and is reproduced here under their Creative Commons licence. The World Bank has described corruption as ‘the single greatest obstacle to economic and social development.” The prospects […]
An adviser in the Iraqi government has said that the Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has instructed the Interior Ministry to combat corruption at border crossing points. Ahmed al-Shihani told AKnews that the Prime Minister called for action to be taken following official reports about rising corruption at Iraq’s border crossings -- particularly the borders with […]
The Chairman of the Iraqi Commission on Integrity, Rahim al-Ugeily, has announced on Thursday that 2,300 defendants have been prosecuted this year on charges of corruption, totalling in excess of 600 billion (b) Iraqi Dinars (US$535 million approx.). 600 people have been sentenced to various jail sentences. Judge Ugeily was speaking in a workshop taking […]
Iraq's Ministry of Oil denied on Monday that the cause of Iraqi air pollution is the use of tetra ethyl lead (TEL) as an additive to the petrol used in cars. The Ministry stressed that [imported] fuel does not contain this substance, while the locally produced petrol uses it only in small quantities. TEL has […]
We reported recently on the excessive salaries and expenses being drawn by Iraq's parliamentarians -- it now seems the country has run out of money to pay for widows' benefits, farm crops and other programs for the poor. According to Associated Press, in only the parliament's fourth session since being elected in March, its members […]
As Iraq's politicians continue to haggle over the formation of the next government, the World Bank has issued its latest Doing Business 2011 report, and the incoming administration would do well to read it. Consider the following: Out of 183 countries monitored, Iraq ranks 166th, behind even Haiti and Zimbabwe; No business regulation reforms have […]
Swedish truck maker Scania paid $5 million in kickbacks through the U.N.'s oil-for-food program in Iraq, possibly violating both U.S. and Swedish laws, an anti-corruption investigator said on Friday, according to a report from Associated Press. Swedish prosecutor Nils-Eric Schultz told the agency he is preparing to file charges in Sweden against several company officials […]
According to a report from Associated Press, Iraq's 325 members of parliament have collected their $90,000 stipends, are claiming $22,500 a month in salaries and allowances, and are spending free nights in Baghdad's finest hotel. That's what they get for attending the only session of parliament since the March elections, a session that lasted about […]
Federal authorities say a U.S. Army engineer took hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes for funneling Iraq reconstruction contracts to friends, building a $1.1 million mansion with the proceeds. John Alfy Salama Markus, 38, was arrested at his home on Wednesday and charged in New Jersey with money laundering and conspiracy to commit bribery […]
By Tariq Abdell, Founder & Chairman, Mesopotamia Insight. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The absence, thus far, of a democratically elected and accountable government -- over six months of political horse-trading -- underscores Iraq's fragile democracy that is exacerbated by […]
ABB, the Swiss-Swedish engineering group, has agreed to pay more than $58m to settle criminal and civil charges in relation to alleged payment of bribes and kickbacks in Mexico and Iraq. The Swiss-Swedish engineering group was charged by the US with conspiracy and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Prosecutors alleged that ABB and its […]
Further to our report yesterday on the police raid on CNPC's al-ahdab oilfield, Iraq's Oil Ministry said on Tuesday that security forces had violated the law, and expressed concern for the affect it could have on foreign investment in the oil sector. "Oil sites and facilities are under the control of the Central Government and […]
