Search Site

Trends banner

‘Wadeem’ sold out for $1.49bn

This is the highest Abu Dhabi real-estate release to date.

Tesla Q2 sales down 13.5%

Shares rally after the disclosure, better than some forecasts.

TomTom cuts 300 jobs

The firm said it was realigning its organization as it embraces AI.

Aldar nets $953m in sales at Fahid

Aldar said 42 percent of the buyers are under the age of 45.

Qualcomm to Alphawave for $2.4 bn

The deal makes Alphawave the latest tech company to depart London.

Iraq issues arrest warrants in ‘heist of the century’

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (R) holds a joint-press conference with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Baghdad on March 1, 2023. AFP
  • An investigating judge in Baghdad has "issued arrest warrants for four senior officials of the former government."
  • The four men include a former finance minister and staff members of former prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi

Iraq’s judiciary issued arrest warrants on Saturday for four former officials who are accused of facilitating the theft of $2.5 billion in public funds in one of the country’s biggest-ever corruption scandals.

An investigating judge in Baghdad has “issued arrest warrants for four senior officials of the former government”, the government’s anti-corruption agency said in a statement.

The four men, who include a former finance minister and staff members of former prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi, are all living outside the country, according to an official at the agency who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The warrants do not name any of the officials, but according to the official, they are former finance minister Ali Allawi, the director of cabinet Raed Jouhi, personal secretary Ahmed Najati, and adviser Mushrik Abbas.

Allawi, a respected politician and academic, resigned in August last year. When the scandal broke a few months later, he denied all responsibility.

Al-Kadhemi defended his record on fighting corruption, saying his government had discovered the case, launched an investigation and taken legal action.

The case, which has been dubbed “the heist of the century”, sparked outrage in oil-rich Iraq, which critics say is plagued by corruption.

At least $2.5 billion was stolen between September 2021 and August 2022 through 247 cheques that were cashed by five companies. The money was then withdrawn in cash from the accounts of these companies, most of whose owners are on the run.

The four men are accused of “facilitating the embezzlement of sums belonging to the tax authorities,” the statement said, adding that they would also be subject to an asset freeze.

The country’s current Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has vowed to crack down on corruption since his appointment in late October.