Barham Salih tends to minimize the scale of corruption in Iraq, says former integrity official
PEREGRAF- Farman Sadiq
The former head of the Iraqi Federal Commission of Integrity, criticizes Barham Salih, President of the Republic of Iraq, and estimates the amount of money smuggled abroad at $ 150 billion. Musa Faraj says: the amount of money is much more than that and The President just wants to show only a slight extent of corruption.
Musa Faraj is a prominent personality tackling the issue of Iraqi corruption, who had been the Vice President of the Federal Commission of Integrity (FCOI) in 2005 and became the Head of the group from 2007 to 2008, then retired at his request. He is now engaged with research and investigations regarding the issue of corruption in Iraq and owns three books in this field.
In this special interview with PEREGRAF, Musa Faraj talks about the breadth of corruption and money smuggled abroad as well as the president's law project to confront corruption and return the money smugglers abroad.
"The project has been so unrealistic that the magnitude of corruption reached 219 billion dollars by 2015, and all the money went abroad," said Musa Faraj. The latter said so when talking about the scope that corruption had started to take and Barham Salih, then Iraqi’s Deputy Prime Minister had strongly dismissed the idea.
President Salih, sent a law project to the Iraqi Parliament on the 23rd of May 2021 for (returning the smuggled money) and in a speech, he asked for the Parliament to make a vote and approve of it.
"With the aim of this law project, it will help to prevent this dangerous phenomenon from spreading and set a limit for corrupt people who have deprived the Iraqi people of the country's charity for many years," Barham Salih said.
"The government and international data and statistics have estimated the amount of Iraq's oil revenues for 2003 and the actual revenues. It amounts to a thousand billion dollars, and there are some signs from the measurement estimates that at least 150 billion dollars of that money have been smuggled out of Iraq because of bargain and corruption transactions" He added.
Barham Salih, once again called on the United Nations to form an international coalition to fight corruption in the same way as the international coalition against ISIS.
Musa Faraj, who became a member of the Committee to Combat Corruption in the Ruling Council in 2003, believes the political elite in Iraq does not want to fight corruption, "because they are corrupt", calling for coordination at the international community, "they want to escape from the circle of corruption but those people are the real source of it".
"I said in 2008 that the scale of corruption amounted to 250 billion dollars, which was when Barham Salih had been Deputy Prime Minister, and that they had not yet understood corruption, so Barham Salih himself strongly rejected it, saying that the oil revenue swelled by 132 billion dollars in the past three years. Even Ayad Allawi had refused. They believe that erasing traces, seizing the state's public estate and destroying industrial sectors and plants are not considered corruption! After we have lost a great deal that they later understood and acknowledged the fact that corruption had indeed been in place, " says the former head of the Commission of Integrity.
Musa Faraj also points out that the Commission and the courts are not independent and are under pressure, "Even those cases which are prominent and related to the political parties. For example, the contracts of the Ministry of Defense and the purchase of weapons are not brought to the Commission of Integrity in any way".
PEREGRAF interview text with Musa Faraj
PEREGRAF: As the former head of the Commission of Integrity, I want to have your opinion on the President of Iraq speech, the extent to which corruption exists and money smugglers, and how can the situation change with the formation of an international alliance against corruption?
Musa Faraj: In a speech, the President of Iraq talked about three topics, one of which said that corruption has engulfed the whole world, meaning corruption is not only in Iraq. This statement is an attempt to reduce the magnitude of corruption in Iraq. The President of Iraq should have talked about the extent to which corruption in Iraq is spreading, as reflected by the international ranking which shows the level at which Iraq is positioned.
The second axis of the President of the Republic of Iraq talks about $150 billion which has been taken abroad, but is a fact of about one trillion dollars, not 150 billion. A few years ago, Ahmed Chalabi, former Head of the Iraqi Parliament's Finance Committee, said in a report before his death that wasting Iraqi money only amounted to $312 billion in dollars. Former Prime Minister Abadi later announced that more than $300 billion had been impaired in Iraq’s economy due to the dollar's auction. In addition, Iraq's demilitarized money abroad is estimated at 150 to 300 billion dollars, along with the seizure of state funds after 2003, which is estimated at billions of dollars, and the budget for the unrealistic projects was billions of dollars.
So, it's interesting that the President of Iraq says: $150 billion. More interestingly, it is calling for the creation of an international coalition to tackle corruption, as Iraq itself signed the United Nations Treaty to Combat Corruption, which was issued in 2005, requiring Iraq to abide by the principles. Good governance is: transparency, appointing officials based on their power and integrity, weapons in the hands of the state, holding free and clean elections, and forming a free and independent commission. But everything I mentioned above did not happen in Iraq after 2005 and no good governance has been done in Iraq.
In general, the President of Iraq estimates the scale of corruption in Iraq amounting to 150 billion dollars and calls for an international coalition, and the international community does not create an international coalition for such an amount of money.
PEREGRAF: so, Iraq is not committed to the international coalition to confront corruption? How much is corruption in unrealistic projects?
Musa Faraj: Iraq has not, of course, been committed to the anti-corruption coalition. For non-viable projects, we can rely on two sources, which reached $219 billion in 2015. and these two is the budget and the Commission of Integrity and all the money has gone out of Iraq, as the money does not need the support of the Commission of Integrity and the Financial Supervision Board to be moved.
PEREGRAF: What are the obstacles in front of the Commission of Integrity?
Musa Faraj: There are three main obstacles: according to the constitution, the Commission of Integrity must be fully independent and not under the pressure of any other institution, which is not the actual situation. Second, the government is obligated to provide information to the Commission and procure the files, but the government does not do so and does not give the important files to the Commission except for the negligible files which are related to the employees. The third point is the dismissal and abolition of the work of the Committee by the government, which is freed by a government decision by expressing public and private apologies to those who have corruption cases.
PEREGRAF: so, do you think The President's request is to show how insignificant corruption is in Iraq? When you say the breadth of corruption extends to a trillion dollars?
Musa Faraj: No doubt. I said in 2008 that the amplitude of corruption amounted to 250 billion dollars when Barham Salih had been Deputy Prime Minister, and the problem is that they have not yet understood corruption, so Barham Salih himself strongly rejected me and said that the oil revenue swelled by 132 billion dollars in the past three years. Even Ayad Allawi had refused. They believe that erasing traces, seizing the state's public estate and destroying industrial sectors and plants are not considered corruption! After we have lost a great deal that they later understood and acknowledged the fact that corruption had indeed been in place.
PEREGRAF: Will the initiative of the Iraqi President have any benefit?
Musa Faraj: Of course, it is beneficial to ask the International Community to help Iraq return its money abroad, but not to say 150 billion dollars, but Baathist-era money is more than $200 billion.
But the International Community is requesting for the initiative in Iraq, referring to private banks which are at the center of money-laundering and transportation abroad. The government should make the decision to remove these banks and stop showing money through international banks, of which some even go to terrorist groups, and if they cannot cease operations, the government should be responsible for its supervision.
PEREGRAF: According to your experience, is the Commission able to fight corruption in the way it is at the moment?
Musa Faraj: If it is allowed to work independently and not interfere in its affairs, but the situation tells us that it cannot exist in the way it is currently.
If the Prime Minister is honest and wants to tackle corruption, he should be able to prove it through his actions not merely talking about supporting the staff of the Commission of Integrity and he should support the staff of the integrity commission and the decisions of the courts in arresting those who have arrest warrants on corruption charges and do not give them a public apology, then the commission of integrity can face the spread of corruption by up to 70%.
PEREGRAF: so, does the Iraqi political elite want to face corruption or they are themselves corrupt?
Musa Faraj: The political elite certainly does not want to fight corruption, because they are corrupt! If corruption in Iraq was at the level of employees, then according to the decision of the political elite, they would all be in prisons by now.
PEREGRAF: Do you think Iraq can face corruption after the request of the International Community co-ordination?
Musa Faraj: That demand is synonymous to playing with fire! Officials intend to tell the Iraqi community that we have not asked the International Community to coordinate us in confronting corruption. They want to escape from the circle of corruption and those people are the real source of the trouble.
With the current situation, it is impossible to fight corruption. The Iraqi community has been in a state of foolishness and ignorance since the Baathist regime. It is not the same Iraq that Egypt used to write, that Lebanon used to print and Iraq only read. Now the Iraqis are so misguided that they cannot face the corrupt and remove them from power until they are fully aware of and know how to deal with the political system and Parliamentary elections.