International experts join Iraq effort to trace stolen funds – Shafaq News

Shafaq News- Baghdad

US and other international experts
specializing in tracing stolen or smuggled funds have arrived in Baghdad to
support Iraqi efforts to recover public money, an informed source told Shafaq
News on Monday, as the government presses ahead with its Dawn Crackdown
anti-corruption campaign, launched on June 28.

The international committee, which
has been in the capital for several days, began working with Iraq’s
anti-corruption team to track funds, particularly dollars, drawing on the experts’
knowledge of financial flows to identify the parties involved and methods used
to smuggle public money.

The source expected the coming
period to bring arrests of figures he described as “corruption whales,”
indicating that the campaign would reach beyond ministers, deputy ministers,
and directors-general to other key suspects whose identities would be disclosed
later.

Meanwhile, money recovered from some
individuals convicted of stealing public funds is undergoing audits and
technical procedures to establish its original source before being processed
through the state treasury system.

Salam Al-Zubaidi, a senior member of
the Al-Nasr (Victory) Coalition, told Shafaq News that Baghdad was cooperating
with the team and other international bodies experienced in combating
corruption and recovering assets. He added that Iraq was seeking Interpol
cooperation to arrest senior suspects who previously held political or
government positions, including former ministers.

“No one is exempt from the law, and
there is no immunity for the corrupt.”

Iraqi authorities detained at least
210 officials, lawmakers, employees, and business figures during the first six
weeks of the Dawn Crackdown, according to a Shafaq News review of cases
documented between June 28 and August 9.

Read more: Corruption arrests in Iraq pass 210 under PM al-Zaidi