Iraqi News Saturday AM 9-18-21
Iraqi News Saturday AM 9-18-21
TLM724 Administrator BondLady’s Corner
Prime Minister: We Opened Corruption Files That Have Not Been Exposed For 17 Years
Thursday 16 September 2021 194 Baghdad: Tariq Al-Araji And Muhannad Abdel Wahab
Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi said: The Anti-Corruption Committee has disclosed files that have not been disclosed for 17 years, indicating that corruption and terrorism are two sides of the same coin.
General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, with the participation of ministers, heads of judicial councils and anti-corruption bodies in Arab countries and international figures.
Al-Kazemi added in his speech during the conference: “I welcome you, brothers, to your important conference on recovering looted funds due to corruption, as distinguished guests in the land of Mesopotamia in Baghdad, which has suffered what it has suffered because of corruption, smuggling and looting of Iraq’s bounties over the past decades,” noting that “corruption Money smuggling is a serious disease that affects any society and any country if the risks of this disease are not dealt with seriously and responsibly, by taking measures to combat corruption and eliminate waste, smuggling and recklessness outlets. the capabilities of the people.
He added, "We admit that this disease afflicted our country for decades.
Billions of dollars were stolen and smuggled during the previous dictatorial regime.
Unfortunately, after 2003, institutional errors allowed corruption to escalate in a more dangerous way, and some took advantage of the security chaos and legal loopholes to steal and transfer people's money. outside Iraq," noting that "corruption and the recovery of the Iraqi people's money smuggled out of Iraq represent priority for the current government.
He added, "Corruption and terrorism are two sides of the same coin, and corruption and dissipation of the state's capabilities and capabilities are explicit terrorism, and corruption paved the way for ISIS gangs to desecrate the land of Iraq," explaining that "corruption was present when an attempt was made to plunge society into a fake sectarian conflict, the first and last goal of which is looting." money, and corruption was present in the weakening of state institutions, and in choosing the wrong person in the right place in all institutions, just as corruption was the twin gangs of ISIS and its backers as they oppressed Iraqis.
He said: "We are talking about the weak infrastructure in Iraqi cities, so we refer to corruption, money smuggling and waste of resources, and the same is true when we talk about the spread of slums, unemployment, and the decline of health and educational institutions after Iraq was occupying advanced positions in health and education," pointing out that "we say With courage and frankness, the path to a rational state begins with frankness with our people about the diseases that led to the decline of a great, historical and fundamental country in the region and the world like Iraq.
He added, "We set from the beginning our main goal in fighting corruption, and we formed a special committee to combat it, which did its duty with the Integrity Commission, the judicial authorities, the Ministry of Justice, and Financial Control, and it revealed, within one year, corruption files that were not revealed for 17 years, and recovered money looted from abroad," he explained.
The committee, on the other hand, was subjected to attacks and false accusations, the aim of which was to thwart it and thwart its work, but when you have a national duty before you, there is no place frustration and retreat.
The Prime Minister called "the Recovery Department of the Integrity Commission to work hard and diligently with the Ministry of Justice to follow up the looted funds, by opening legal cases against the parties involved, and accelerating the process of returning the funds to the Iraqis,"
calling on "friendly and brotherly countries to help Iraq to recover its money, and in return we are open." to the utmost degree of cooperation with all countries in this regard.”
He stressed the need for "there should not be any safe haven for looted money and thefts, and the corrupt and thieves should not feel that there is a haven for money stolen from any country," noting that "the corrupt should be well aware that this money will be returned to its owners, no matter how long the time and the distance is." And they will face the law for the crimes they committed."
He continued, "With our insistence on returning the smuggled money, and with your efforts, ideas, and the fraternal responsibility that unites us, we will fight the scourge of corruption and money smuggling, and we will create a safe and fair environment for our peoples," concluding his speech by saying: "Enough corruption, destruction, and sabotage in Iraq and in every country. Enough of the abuse of our peoples, the theft of their money, and the destruction of their economies.”
Arab League
For his part, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, stressed that confronting corruption is very complex, as it requires continuous cooperation, indicating that this dangerous phenomenon constitutes a threat to stability.
Aboul Gheit said in a speech during the launch of the conference: "This conference is an important opportunity to combat corruption and recover money," noting that "this dangerous phenomenon poses a threat to stability," adding that "the most dangerous of corruption is the prevalence of the phenomenon of corruption and this culture is common in our country.".
He pointed out that "the most important achievement achieved is an Arab agreement to combat corruption in 2010," stressing that"the Arab League attaches great importance to combating corruption and coordinating common positions."
He explained that "the Arab Convention against Corruption is a consolidation of the United Nations Convention, and 14 Arab countries have ratified the convention," noting that "confronting corruption is very complex and requires continuous cooperation, and I am convinced that Arab cooperation is a crackdown on corruption."
He concluded by saying, "All thanks to the ministries and bodies working to combat corruption and recover looted funds, stressing that the Arab League stands with all institutions working to combat corruption and recover funds."
On the sidelines of the conference, Aboul Gheit said in an interview with "Al-Sabah": "Convening such a conference, legislation and Arab cooperation impose on governments and states to help each other and confront corruption."
He pointed out that "this money is in fact nothing but the money of the Arab peoples, and when it is looted, the people of integrity and vision must confront it and proceed with the confrontation no matter how much effort and price it takes, and from here comes the importance of these conferences," wishing "the conference success and that the Arab nation succeed in combating This annoying and dangerous disease."
talk of justice
For his part, Minister of Justice Salar Abdul Muhammad confirmed that there are difficulties in implementing the recovery of the looted funds.
Muhammad said, in his speech during the conference: "The conference aims to recover the looted funds in cooperation with countries and confront the theft of public money," noting that "despite Iraq's accession to the agreement to recover the looted funds, there is a weakness in international efforts and the failure to take adequate measures."
He added that "there are difficulties that prevent the implementation of the recovery of the looted funds," stressing,
"As we succeeded in eliminating terrorism, we must confront corruption, and the looted funds must be recovered through bilateral and international agreements."
He added, "Iraq does not know most of the money looted prior to 2003," noting that "the role of the Ministry of Justice is to represent Iraq in international conferences, file lawsuits and recover them to the state treasury."
And the Minister of Justice indicated that "the conference is an important message that recovering the looted funds is of interest to the state, and we refused not to be recovered by countries and to seize them," stressing that
"Iraq is a country of seven thousand years that is able to recover its money, and the government is determined to recover all its money from abroad.".
Honesty has her say
As for the head of the Integrity Commission, head of the Stolen Funds Recovery Fund, Alaa Jawad, he stressed that Iraq suffers from a lack of cooperation from countries that are incubators of corruption, stressing that dual citizenship is resorted to by some officials with investment and corruption.
Jawad said during his speech at the Stolen Funds Recovery Conference: "The conference is an important step to recover the looted funds in cooperation with the Arab countries, and we hope that it will lead to recommendations to return the funds, and to develop solutions with the countries that prevent the recovery of funds, which are incubators of corruption."
He added, "We need to combine efforts with the Integrity Commission, including the Public Prosecution, the Ministry of Justice and Foreign Affairs, the Central Bank, the Iraqi judiciary and other parties, in order to help Iraq recover the looted funds," noting that "some countries are incubators of corruption and stand in the way of not returning the funds." ".
He explained that "dual citizenship is resorted to by some officials in investment and corruption, and Iraq is still suffering from the lack of cooperation of some countries in recovering the money."
Also on the sidelines of the conference, Judge Alaa Jawad considered the conference an "important step to recover Iraq's money," expressing his hope that "the conference will lead to recommendations to return the looted funds."
Jawad said in an interview with "Al-Sabah": "The Integrity Commission, in coordination with the Ministry of Justice and Cooperation with the Arab League and under the patronage of the Prime Minister, held this conference on the recovery of smuggled and looted assets," noting that "the Integrity Commission is in charge of this file and is representative of Iraq in international conventions."
He added that "the commission has prepared complete international files, to which all the supporting parties have contributed, and they are files that contain an international character in which conviction decisions have acquired a final degree on a person and the value of the looted money, and all parties work in it and request assistance through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
He pointed out that "the great obstacle that the Integrity Commission suffers from is the international aspect represented by the unwillingness to cooperate by the countries that contain the looted money, in addition to that these countries protect the person convicted by the Iraqi judiciary through ways represented by investing this looted money, laundering it or granting citizenship For the corrupt person, and therefore this issue entails great burdens.”
He noted that "this conference and the presence of important countries in it in Baghdad embarrasses countries that embrace corruption, and a united front can be made to demand those countries of their legal duties within the international convention and within the moral and humanitarian standards that require the recovery of assets and convicted defendants," revealing that "many countries responded to the call, especially since Iraq Looking forward to being active in recovery his stolen money.
Jawad accused "some countries that are incubators of being an obstacle in returning the looted money," adding that "Iraq is still suffering from countries' lack of cooperation in recovering the money."
Conference guests
In addition, Kuwaiti Minister of Justice Abdullah Yousef stressed that concerted efforts towards liberating societies from corruption is an important step.
In a speech during the conference, the Kuwaiti minister said that "the concerted regional and international efforts towards liberating societies from corruption is an important step," noting that
"Kuwait has taken many measures to combat corruption."
He praised the "high-level efforts and coordination of the Iraqi Ministry of Justice," noting that "the conference is an important base for recovering looted funds and preventing its repercussions."
For his part, Palestinian Minister of Justice Muhammad al-Shalaldeh said in an interview with “Al-Sabah”: “The importance of the conference to recover looted funds in Iraq lies in the fact that it is held under the framework of the League of Arab States, and the second point of importance is that it comes within the framework of unifying Arab legislation from order to recover the looted funds in Iraq and the rest of the Arab countries.
He added that "Iraq has been exposed to many crises, especially in the theft of looted funds, as is the case in Palestine, which was looted by the occupation, and restoring what was looted or stolen from the two countries is not only the responsibility of Iraq and Palestine, but the responsibility of the international community represented by the United Nations to activate the legal and judicial mechanisms on At a national, regional and international level in order to recover the looted funds based on the Anti-Corruption Agreement of the League of Arab States and the international agreement issued by the United Nations in the fight against corruption.
And he indicated that "the issue is not in the texts, but lies in the problem of the legal and judicial mechanisms by these countries, and also lies in the environment of cooperation and how to recover funds that belong to the interest of the Iraqi people and the consolidation of the principle of sovereignty in Iraq."
The Palestinian minister called for "the conference to come up with a set of actual recommendations that must be transformed into legal mechanisms adopted by the Arab countries and the Convention against Corruption at the United Nations level, and that there be a framework at the national level to activate it in Iraq and the Arab countries and activate it at the regional level between the countries of the two European Unions." The African Union and the Organization of American States, as well as its activation at the level of the international community represented by the United Nations and the consolidation and consolidation of this agreement in the Treaty of Treaties of 1996 in the Vienna Treaty.
He pointed out that "on the countries that violated the law, the penalty and punishment must be applied to them by the international community according to Chapter VII of the Security Council in order to recover these funds. Otherwise, those countries that have become a safe haven for the looted funds will not find a deterrent or motive for them." to return that money.
For his part, Judge Hamad Abdul Hamid Al-Hatar, President of the Supreme Court of Yemen, said in an interview with "Al-Sabah", that "the conference represents an important step in the right direction to combat corruption and recover the looted money," stressing that "Yemen is keen to attend such conferences because of their It is important in strengthening the bonds of cooperation between anti-corruption agencies and justice agencies in general.”
He added, "The road begins with one step, and we believe that Iraq has begun to take good steps in the right direction and will achieve good results and will recover all or some of its looted money," noting that "Yemen supports Iraq's leadership, government and people in adopting these measures."
Yesterday, Wednesday, the work of a conference on recovering looted funds from Iraq was launched in Baghdad, with wide Arab and international participation.
The Integrity Commission had announced earlier that Baghdad would host an expanded international conference to recover the looted funds, on the fifteenth and sixteenth. From this September.
https://alsabaah.iq/54469/
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