Iraq announces that it has recovered a small part of the $2.5 billion that was stolen from the Tax Authority, after a corruption scandal.

Iraq recovered “part” On Sunday, November 27, the Prime Minister announced the fraudulent withdrawal of $2.5 billion from a bank tax account. Muhammad Chia Al-Sudani, during a televised speech, called on everyone involved in this scandal to surrender and return the stolen public funds.

The case, which was made public in mid-October, has caused outrage in a country rich in oil and plagued by rampant corruption. And a document from the General Tax Administration indicated that these $2.5 billion were deducted between September 2021 and August 2022, via 247 checks cashed by five companies. The money was then withdrawn in cash from the accounts of these companies, whose owners, who are mostly fugitives, are subject to arrest warrants.

The prime minister claimed that one of the businessmen involved in the case, Noor Zuhair Jassim, had returned just over $125 million of the billion he owned. “He confessed” Getting. The prime minister said that the businessman would be released on bail in exchange for returning the rest of the stolen money within two weeks.

The prime minister admitted that tax officials and public oversight bodies were involved, explaining who they were It will be revealed at the end of the investigation.. “We will spare no one”a promise.