Iraq brings stolen assets to the UN table
Shafaq News - Baghdad
On Saturday, Iraq called for stronger international enforcement to recover stolen assets as the eleventh session of the Conference of States Parties (CoSP) to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) concluded in Doha.
In a statement on Facebook, Federal Commission of Integrity chief Mohammed Ali Al-Lami, leading the Iraqi delegation, said that asset recovery, prosecution of perpetrators, and protection of victims must remain at the heart of global anti-corruption efforts, warning that “conflicts or emergencies should never be used as a pretext for impunity.”
Al-Lami added that Iraq endorsed resolutions promoting the use of modern technology to dismantle organized crime networks, strengthen transparency in government contracting, and expand the oversight role of civil society.
Over the past two decades, experts estimate that Iraq may have lost between US $250 billion and US $450 billion through mismanaged or stolen funds. High-profile scandals include the so-called “Theft of the Century,” involving 3.7 trillion dinars (≈ US $2.5 billion) siphoned from tax deposits, and separate losses amounting to US $18 billion in railway assets.
While the government has referred multiple ministers for prosecution and signed new agreements to trace stolen assets abroad — recovering at least 51 fugitives — both the United Nations and domestic oversight bodies warn that entrenched political interference and weak judicial enforcement continue to hinder real reform.
Read more: Iraq's corrupt maze: Oil, bribes, and broken trust
