Thursday Morning Iraq Economic News Highlights 1-26-23
After A Day Of Protests In Front Of The Iraqi Central Bank.. The Dollar Prices Stabilized At 161 Thousand Dinars Per Paper
01/26/2023 16:07 Baghdad-Iraq today: Today, Thursday, the exchange rates of the dollar witnessed stability in the local stock exchange.
The prices are as follows: The selling price of the dollar is 161,000 dinars per 100 dollars. The purchase price of the dollar is 160,500 dinars per 100 dollars. LINK
Integrity Announces The Return Of More Than A Trillion Dinars In The Investigations Of The Investment Portfolio Issue
Money and business Economy News-Baghdad Today, Thursday, the Federal Integrity Commission announced the return of more than a trillion dinars in the investigations of the investment portfolio case.
A statement of the authority stated that “the investigation department of the authority, while speaking about the details of the case that the authority investigated and referred to the judiciary, stated that its investigative procedures regarding the violations committed in opening the retirement investment portfolio between the global smart card company and the National Retirement Authority led to the return of an amount of ( (1,158,454,330,228) dinars from the amounts collected at the Rafidain Bank due to the Pension Authority.
He added, “The benefits accruing from the retirement investment portfolio were obtained to the account of the National Retirement Authority, which was determined by the joint committee consisting of (the National Retirement Authority, the Rafidain Bank, and the International Smart Card Company), amounting to (368,663,151,201) dinars,” pointing out that “the amount represents The value of the damage resulting from the violations committed in opening the portfolio, including non-payment of interest accrued from the portfolio from the cash liquidity of the National Retirement Authority.
He pointed out that “the remaining amount out of the total retirement investment portfolio is (542,980,769,771) billion dinars, and it is under payment by borrowers and borrowers, since the time period for expiring the payment of the full funds of the retirement investment portfolio and matching its accounts expires in 2025.”
He continued, “The details of the case indicate that the International Smart Card Company and the National Retirement Authority signed a report stating that the National Retirement Authority – State Employees’ Pension Fund funded a bank account opened in the Rafidain Bank entitled “Retirement Investment Portfolio” with an amount of (2,250,000,000,000) dinars to be granted in the form of advances.
And loans through the Qi Card,” pointing out that “the minutes of establishing the portfolio were signed in violation of the law, as it was signed by the head of the National Retirement Authority before obtaining the approval of the authority’s board of directors.”
And he indicated that “there was no financing contract concluded between the parties that shows the mechanism for depositing funds, the date of their return to the National Retirement Authority, or the corresponding guarantees in the event that the funds are not recovered,” pointing out that “there is no database; to know the numbers and names of borrowers and borrowers who are reluctant to pay, and not to return Refunds due to the National Pension Authority.
And he stressed, “This refers to benefiting from cash liquidity without any benefit belonging to the retirement authority, and committing other violations indicated by the report of the Federal Office of Financial Supervision that caused damage arising from non-payment of interest on the portfolio,
in addition to the original amount of the portfolio to the party requesting the complaint (the National Retirement Authority). )”, warning of “exploiting the insurance on the investment portfolio by deducting amounts from each borrower as insurance through establishing a company for the accused (the authorized director of the global smart card company.”
It is noteworthy that the Integrity Commission revealed on the eighteenth of last August that its investigative procedures and follow-up of the file of the issue of pension salaries outside Iraq led to the recovery of (231,352,535,563) billion dinars to the state treasury, which represents the sums owed by the company (Ki Card), warning of the possibility of determining the existence of interest due to Exploitation of amounts for several years from the date of 2017. https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=32108
The Judiciary: Nour Zahid Returned About 400 Million Dinars… And Haitham Al-Jubouri Stole 17 Billion Dinars
Money and business Economy News-Baghdad Judge of the Karkh Investigation Court, First Judge Diaa Jaafar, revealed that new directives were issued by the President of the Supreme Judicial Council regarding the recovery of funds, and while he clarified the procedures for lifting the seizure of some of the property of one of the defendants in the deal of the century, he announced the details of a minister’s attempt in the previous government to illegally acquire residential land.
Judge Jaafar said in an interview with the Iraqi News Agency, which was viewed by “Al-Iqtisad News”, that “the issue of combating corruption is one of the crises that the country is going through,” noting that “an expanded meeting was held recently in the building of the Presidency of the Supreme Judicial Council, in the presence of the President of the Supreme Judicial Council, Judge Faiq Zaidan. , and the head of the Integrity Commission, and the head of the support team formed by the Council of Ministers, and the investigative judge specialized in integrity issues in Rusafa and the Karkh Investigation Court.
He added, “The aim of this meeting is to clarify the obstacles facing our investigative work on combating corruption, as there are a number of obstacles that impede the anti-corruption process, the most important of which is the collection of evidence on the subject, its maturation, and its delivery to the investigation courts to take legal measures against the perpetrators, and then refer them to The competent court,” noting that “the meeting resulted in directives from the Supreme Judicial Council, which included the need to work to recover the sums of money obtained by a number of the accused, and the perpetrators of financial and administrative corruption crimes.”
And Judge Jaafar stated that “all investigations and procedures in the past were proceeding with a clear classic, which is to refer the perpetrator of the crime to the competent court, and then take legal measures and allow room for defenses,” pointing out that “we will try during the coming period to move away from this classicism in quick procedures.” Towards the need to return the sums of money obtained by committing administrative and financial corruption crimes.
And the Integrity Judge stated: “During the past periods, the Iraqi judiciary began to focus on another topic as well, which is the issue of contracts in which errors and violations occurred, or contracts that include suspicions of unfairness in the interest of the state,” pointing out that “we have begun recent steps on this issue, and its fruits have begun.”
It appears through the investigation of one of the cases that we are considering at the present time, and the focus was on considering the re-contracts, including those that took place with the Rafidain and Rasheed banks, as the contract included in part of its vocabulary some problems, and they were signed in certain circumstances that the country was going through.
And he indicated that “these contracts, according to our judicial views, are incorrect contracts, and our investigations found that there are a number of parties involved in this matter and legal measures have been taken against negligent employees, and the owner of one of the companies has been imprisoned,” pointing out that “we have reached advanced stages regarding the procedure.” Settlements and return of all sums of money to the state, where some of the sums of money have been paid, in addition to the fact that there are committees formed to reformulate the contract in a logical and proper manner as required by the rules of justice, with many cases that began to be presented during the recent periods that have passed in this way.
He continued, “There is a case brought before the court related to the contracts of the Ministry of Justice, in which investigations were conducted and we reached advanced stages by taking legal measures against a number of employees,” explaining that “there are directions and points of view by the government and the Ministry of Justice to reconsider the contract properly.” .
Judge Jaafar emphasized that “the issue of contracts that were previously conducted, and we find at the present time that indicates the existence of unfairness against state institutions, this issue is the focus of consideration and consideration by the judiciary, and there are serious procedures and steps towards addressing the issue in a real way,” explaining that “the real treatment of the issue of contracts What is not correct, and which applies at a certain pace, is to take legal measures against the defaulters only.”
He stated that “these procedures include all contracts made by governments without exception,” explaining that “the Iraqi judiciary has not only taken the classic legal measures regarding these contracts, but we are looking and investigating in a broader manner in the case.”
And he stressed the need to “reconsider the contracts legally and logically, and conversely, legal measures may be taken against the owners of the companies as they have affected at the expense of the interest of the state and the citizen,” pointing out that “we are continuing to investigate in this direction on a number of other issues, with the aim of achieving the impact of the investigations and delivering A message that deterrence will affect those who are outside the job and try to harm the interest of the state.
He stressed that “the Penal Code mentioned a lot of legal articles that deal with the issue of contracts, but this issue is related to the adaptation of facts, as the adaptation of facts previously with investigations conducted by courts depends on investigations that come from parties that have not previously dealt with this issue,” pointing out that ” Our role as a judiciary is to discuss the impact of the ruling, and what is the effect of the ruling.”
He stressed the necessity of “applying the spirit of the law,” pointing out that “we have begun to investigate the impact of rulings, whether their impact eliminates violations committed within government institutions.”
And he stated, “We have begun to clarify the details for the presidency of the Supreme Judicial Council with regard to these matters, and the directives were clear to do some details through which it is possible to achieve the effect that removes the impact of the crime, and not only to conduct investigations with employees who abused power, or who facilitated the seizure of funds.” general for persons outside of employment.
Century Theft File
Judge Jaafar indicated that “the book that was spread about lifting the seizure of the property of the accused (Nour Zuhair) is clear, and indicates that the accused paid sums of money deposited in the state treasury, and as a result, the seizure was lifted from the property or from the company whose amount was paid in full to the state treasury,” stressing There is no complete lifting of the seizure of the movable and immovable funds of the accused, as the rest of his money is seized for the benefit of the state according to the available data, which are a number of projects and companies that continue under the decision of seizure.
And he stressed that “this accused has so far paid nearly 400 billion dinars out of a trillion and 600 billion dinars,” pointing out that “the rest is paid according to a timetable, and we are moving towards it and it is supposed to be accomplished quickly,” noting that “there are many obstacles that It accompanies the process of payments, and there is no validity to lift the travel ban regarding the accused, and there are measures taken in several directions and a decision was issued that the accused (Nour Zuhair) be under the eyes and follow-up of the investigations clearly.
He stated that “there are some details that we have reached and we are collecting evidence towards the rest of the parties involved in the case,” pointing out that “the case of the deal of the century is not only related to the accused, Nour Zuhair, but also to many parties and leaders within the previous government that facilitated and planned to seize this money.”
He pointed out, “Investigations are continuing in the case, and new arrest warrants have been issued against two government figures, one of whom has been clearly accused, and we are very close to taking legal measures against him after completing the evidence. The other person has an arrest warrant linked to an important government agency in the previous government, and legal measures have been taken against him.” Currently, he has international follow-up to retrieve him from one of the countries.”
Involvement of media professionals in the deal of the century
He stressed that “the court considered a number of cases indicating that some media professionals departed from the impartiality that they are supposed to practice,” pointing out that “the media must be impartial and report what is going on.”
And he indicated that “there are legal measures taken against a journalist and a person associated with a media institution for their request for sums of money estimated at 3 million dollars, and investigations have been conducted and are still ongoing,” explaining that “the journalist and the other person have been summoned, one of whom has appeared before the court and the other has not yet appeared, and measures may be taken against him.” To compel him to appear in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the investigations are still in their infancy.
He stressed that “not mentioning the names of the defendants in the case is to preserve the profession as judges through the legal rules that we have studied and are studying at the present time, which include that” the accused is innocent until proven guilty,” pointing out that “financial and administrative corruption cases have a number of aspects, and part of them irritate Citizens towards the accused accused of corruption, and sometimes the charges are not proven.”
Refund Theft Of The Century
Judge Jaafar confirmed that “the investigations into the case of the theft of the century are continuing, and there is a difficulty regarding it because most of the parties that committed the crime are outside Iraq, and this is one of the obstacles facing us,” pointing out that “we will find a way out to pursue them in a proper manner and return all the smuggled money.”
The case of Haitham al-Jubouri
The investigative judge of the Karkh Court explained that “the law of the Integrity and Illegal Gain Commission includes that any person who is accused of inflating his money, appears before the court to state and clarify the legitimate sources of his money, and if the court is convinced of the validity of the sources and conducting investigations, he may be referred to the court or the case will be terminated.”
He stated that “what happened with regard to the accused, Haitham al-Jubouri, is that he appeared before the Integrity Commission and clarified his legitimate sources, and because the commission was not convinced of the sources of funds, a report was submitted to the courts that included suspicion of inflation with his money amounting to 17 billion dinars,”
pointing out that “he was questioned in the court in a legal manner about The sources of his funds, however, he did not present anything new, but he presented some legal defenses regarding the sources of funds, as part of them were rejected by the court and the other part was referred to the school for external auditing to conduct audits and indicate whether there is a difference or that it reduces the value of the occurring inflation.
He emphasized that “the reports that we received later support that everything the accused presented is inaccurate, incorrect, and unsound,” noting that “on this basis, we collected the value of the amount that he owed, and we explained to him that it will be referred to the trial court.”
And he stated that “before he was referred to the court, he appeared before us and asked to pay part of the money with the aim of settling,” explaining that “the accused paid a sum of money before the criminal court at a value of 4 billion dinars, and paid 5 billion dinars with a certified check as a guarantee, so that the total is 9 billion dinars out of 17.” One billion dinars, and asked for a deadline to complete the full amount of money, and he is currently released on bail.
He stressed that “Haitham al-Jubouri’s trial will take place according to the law, as his payment of the sums of money will not cancel the case against him, as is the case with the case of Nour Zuhair,” pointing out that “paying the money before the trial will mitigate the sentences, as good faith in payment can mitigate the ruling in the case.”
He stated that “the grant of combating financial and administrative corruption in all countries of the world differs from the grant of the rest of the crimes, which have their origins and procedures,” explaining that “the different provisions, their proportionality, mitigation, and renewal differ from one court to another according to the point of view, data, and what is in the Penal Code.”
Illegal Earning
Jaafar stressed that “the illegal gain mentioned in the Integrity Commission Law No. 30 of 2011, amended in 2019, includes new provisions, and that these provisions are part of its dangerous vocabulary, as it is not related to state employees only, but may also include non-employees, and that the applications of this The law requires great precision and care.”
He pointed out, “We are keen on two aspects: the first: that we take legal measures against all persons who affected the account of the government institution, and the second: is to collect evidence in a logical manner so that we can be assured that whoever took legal measures against him deserved to be charged with these charges.”
And he indicated that “the legal texts in the Illicit Gain Law No. 30 of 2011 are very harsh texts, which include fining the accused with the value of the gain, and refunding the value of the gain (meaning that the amount is paid double), and that the investigation of these cases depends on the reports of the Integrity Commission, which when presented to It is the judge’s duty to scrutinize it duly,” pointing to “the importance of giving way to those accused of these crimes to present their defenses regarding how to obtain the sources of funds.”
And he stated, “We are cautious in dealing with such cases,” pointing out that “the illegal gain law may target non-employees.”
Exploiting Cabinet decisions
And he continued: “At a certain period, we noticed the existence of exploitation in the decisions of the Council of Ministers; to achieve personal interests with the aim of benefiting at the expense of the interest of the state.”
And he indicated that “a certain minister in the previous government included a request in the cabinet session to purchase a land of 2,880 square meters, claiming that the piece of land he lives in is sequestered from all roads, as the cabinet agreed to exclude him from buying the land by public auction according to legal methods.” Pointing out that “the investigations today showed that the disclosure was incorrect, and the legal procedures were inaccurate, as measures will be taken against the minister and the committee that clarified the incorrect statements and drawings, and we issued a decision to prevent disposal and complete the registration of the transaction with this minister.”
The Supreme Anti-Corruption Committee
And Jaafar stated, “The Supreme Anti-Corruption Committee is investigating many cases, and it is working silently and steadily on the issue of collecting evidence and presenting information,” pointing out that “our procedures are based on objective and logical evidence without basing investigations and collecting information on personal matters.”
He expressed his support for “these steps, and we appeal to them to continue the procedures at this pace,” pointing out that “a number of cases that were submitted had the effect of stopping some details related to a preventive aspect.”
He stressed that “the members of the Supreme Commission work according to a clear and correct strategy in the preventive aspect and law enforcement, after completing the investigations in a legal manner, and the stages of collecting inferences are logical, based on investigations and clear logical evidence indicating the commission of a crime.”
Former Agent Of Intelligence
Jaafar pointed out that “there is a case that was presented to the court, and according to the Integrity and Illicit Gain Commission law and the legal texts contained therein, the former intelligence agent (Ahmed Abu Ragheef) gave us the legal period to prove the legality of his sources of money, and he is supposed to present evidence that denies the charge against him within days.” And the investigations are continuing,” pointing out that “there is a decision to prevent him from traveling.”
https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=32104
