Al-Sudani’s new plan to return Iraqi money… Why did he collect…

The announcement by the Iraqi Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia’ al-Sudani, about the return of part of the stolen money in what has become known in the media as the “theft of the century”, in the amount of 2.5 billion dollars, caused a wide controversy in political and popular circles. in Iraq, especially after the release of the most prominent suspects on bail.

Al-Sudani said during a press conference on Sunday that his government had recovered 182.7 billion Iraqi dinars (more than 125 million dollars) as the first payment of trillion, 681 billion and 270 million dinars (a dollar equals one thousand) and 480 dinars) , which will be returned within two weeks, as part of the “theft of the century” related to taxes.

He explained that “the investigation concluded that the said total amount has been paid to the accused Noor Zuhair Jassim, and he will be returned, and the property owned by him, which exceeds this amount, will be confiscated”, pointing out that “his government’s strategy in this file gives more importance to getting the money back than catching the thief.” .

“new policy”

Commenting on this, legal expert Ali Al-Tamimi saw that “what Al-Sudani is doing is considered a new criminal policy, which is based on money first and then on prosecuting the accused, and this new policy aims to recover the money so as not to would be smuggled abroad, or used in crime.”

Al-Tamimi added in an interview with “Arabi 21” that “Al-Sudani’s plan is in accordance with the law and in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code, and I believe it will contribute to the return of a lot of stolen money if it continues at this pace.”

He pointed out that “the release of the defendant on bail is possible according to the Criminal Procedure Act, which is the authority of the investigating judge in accordance with Articles 109 and 110 of the Criminal Procedure Act, because the legal article under which the accused was arrested accepts bail, and that bail is certainly conditional upon the delivery of the sums involved in the case.”

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Al-Tamimi explained that “this does not mean that the legal proceedings against the accused will be suspended, but that the case will be forwarded to the competent court according to the article of accusation after the completion of the investigative procedures, and that this procedure is applied to the criminal policy aimed at achieving public interests according to the rule: If two interests are in conflict, the public interest is given priority over the private one.” “.

The legal expert noted that “in the conditions of the bail issued by the Court of Inquiry, it is possible to determine that they are dependent on a deferred condition, which is after the payment of the amount, which means that the accused remains in custody until all procedures for the return of the money are completed, and after after that he is released and the bail is executed. This is a correct and appropriate procedure.” law.”

blinding attempt

On the other hand, Raad Hashem, an expert on Iraqi political affairs, told Arabi 21, “The Sudanese review process that took place regarding the discovery of the stolen money and the thief’s choice to commute his sentence in exchange for handing over the money is an attempt to obscure the political party standing behind this great and obvious theft.”

Hashim clarified, saying: “Everybody knows that no corruption or theft is carried out in Iraq without a great and influential political will, which is the one who carries it out, and there is ample evidence for this, including the theft of the Baiji refinery, that is, the theft of billions during era of Nouri al-Maliki (Prime Minister) Previous), so the money that is stolen and smuggled takes place under the political patronage of parties, especially influential and pro-Iranian ones.

The Iraqi expert pointed out that “we have noticed an attempt to obfuscate, camouflage and avoid revealing the truth as it is with the leaders of previous governments who also claimed that they would eliminate corruption, form anti-corruption bodies, and that today the Sudanese is catching up with those who preceded him, because he follows the same pattern and steps, but with shows.” different media.

Hashem expressed the hope that “the aspirations of the people will not be thwarted, who will later discover that what is happening is only a cover-up operation for the big thief, because if the Sudanese did not work to target the big thieves before the public opinion, then all these fringe activities are not considered an achievement, because 5 percent of thefts are detected.”

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And he added: “We are waiting for the outcome of the actions of the Sudanese government and we hope that they will not count on the characteristic of forgetting that they often expect to characterize the Iraqi people, because many benevolent forces have a strong memory and the ability to expose many acts of corruption and murder in the country.”

Hashem questioned al-Sudani’s ability to “expose the corruption of those involved in stealing from partisans and militias, despite all the glamorous statements he makes. Yet everyone is watching and monitoring the resolution of these corruption issues, and if nothing happens, the pressure public can embarrass al-Sudani, his government and the Shiite framework.” who brought him to power.

The British newspaper “The Observer” revealed, during the report of the 20th of this month, the involvement of the “Badr” militia led by Hadi al-Amiri in the “theft of the century”, which neither he nor the Iraqi government commented on.

The paper said the robbery plan was overseen by a well-connected businessman and carried out by IRS employees backed by the Iran-linked Badr Organization faction. However, theft of this level would not have occurred without the participation or knowledge of a large number of state institutions, including the office of former Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi.

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In the same context, the British newspaper The Guardian announced on the 21st of this month that it concluded that this scheme (theft of the century) was prepared by businessmen with influential connections, and was carried out by employees of the Tax Administration Committee, which enjoys the support of the “Badr” allied organization with Iran.

She noted that “state capture deepened during the rule of Al-Kazemi, who was favored by the West for promising to rein in military factions of Iran-linked groups such as Badr, but Al-Kazemi lacked a political base and came under pressure from parties and their military wings that tried to strengthen their grip on the positions.” profitable government.

A British newspaper report quoted an employee of the Iraqi tax administration as saying: “The division of positions during Al-Kazemi’s era was greatly strengthened… that this was the only way he could stay in power. However, Al-Kazemi’s office denied such allegations.”