Auditors in Iraq uncover staggering $2.5 billion tax fraud
Original reporting: ‘Heist of the century’: how $2.5bn was plundered from Iraqi state funds (The Guardian)
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Source: Associated Press
Auditors in Iraq uncover staggering $2.5 billion tax fraud
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and SAMYA KULLAB
November 21, 2022
BAGHDAD (AP) — Auditors in Iraq have uncovered a massive scheme in which a network of businesses and officials embezzled some $2.5 billion from the country’s tax authority, despite layers of safeguards.
The scandal poses an early test for Iraq’s new government, which was formed late last month after a prolonged political crisis. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has vowed to crack down on corruption, but few expect any senior officials or political leaders to be held accountable.
The scale of the embezzlement is remarkable, even for an oil-rich country where corruption has been rampant for decades. Transparency International, a global watchdog, rated Iraq 157th out of 180 countries on its 2021 index for clean governance.
The auditors’ report, obtained by The Associated Press and first reported by the Guardian, suggests the theft was orchestrated by a broad network of officials, civil servants and businessmen. In Iraq’s deeply-rooted patronage system, such individuals often have links to powerful political factions.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-business-religion-iraq-embezzlement-c53468bdd7160d11b06c4559310ee798
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