KTFA:
Henig: PRIME MINISTER CONFIRMS IRAQ’S DESIRE TO ENHANCE PROSPECTS FOR COOPERATION WITH BRITAIN
Friday, 17 February 2023 11:05 PM
Baghdad / National News Center
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani affirmed Iraq’s desire to enhance prospects for cooperation with Britain.
The Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement received by the National News Coder that “Prime Minister Mohamed Shia Al-Sudani met at his residence in Munich, Germany, on Friday
British Foreign Minister James Cleverly, on the sidelines of his participation in the Munich Security Conference,” noting that “the meeting reviewed bilateral relations and ways to develop them between the two countries, and discussed developments in the regional and international situation, as well as discussing strengthening cooperation and partnership frameworks in various economic, cultural and educational fields and sectors, and in the fields of energy and investment.”
Al-Sudani stressed that “Iraq looked forward to balanced relations at the regional and international levels, and its desire to enhance the prospects of cooperation with Britain, and to exploit the available capabilities in order to build various economic partnerships, and pointed to the economic reforms adopted by the government program, which would advance the reality of Iraq and its development.”
For his part, the British Foreign Secretary affirmed his country’s commitment to everything that would enhance stability in Iraq, and affirmed his country’s support for the economic development path pursued by the current government, towards further development and economic integration. LINK
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Henig: After meeting the Sudanese in Munich. Interpol to issue a special notice on financial crimes committed in Iraq
2023-02-17 11:16
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Friday called on the Secretary-General of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), Jürgen Stock, to visit Iraq, and discussed with him bilateral cooperation in the field of recovering funds and wanted persons.
This came during a meeting that brought them together on the sidelines of Sudani’s participation in the Munich Security Conference, according to a statement by his office and reported to Shafaq News.
Al-Sudani stressed during the meeting that “the theft of public money is one of the most important challenges facing Iraq, and that combating corruption is among the priorities of the government program,” noting that “the government’s procedures require cooperation from the organization, especially in the issue of dealing with requests submitted regarding financial crimes.”
Al-Sudani also explained that “the theft of public funds and the use of the global financial system to smuggle and launder money is a cross-border international crime, and has harmed Iraq, in addition to being one of the most important enablers of terrorism. He stressed that the return of those wanted for these crimes is one of the most important steps to deter this crime.
The Prime Minister referred to “the government’s measures in securing the Iraqi borders and linking them to Interpol services fully, and called on the International Interpol Organization to provide support in the field of training and capacity building for cadres working at the headquarters and the offices of Interpol established at border crossings, as well as cooperation in the field of exchanging security information with member countries of the international organization, and in the field of supporting financial crimes investigations related to money laundering and terrorist financing, and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).”
Al-Sudani expressed “Iraq’s desire to make the most of the areas provided by Interpol, and to contribute to the dissemination of all blue and green notices for perpetrators of terrorist crimes, especially the information shared in Interpol’s databases within the Foreign Terrorist Fighters Project.”
The Prime Minister extended an invitation to the Secretary-General to visit Iraq at the earliest opportunity.
For his part, the Secretary-General of Interpol expressed the organization’s readiness to cooperate with Iraq in urging countries to recover stolen funds, wanted and convicted in corruption cases, and pointed out that Interpol established a competent department a year ago, and will issue a special notice on financial crimes committed in Iraq. LINK
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Henig: SUDANI: THEFT OF PUBLIC MONEY IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CHALLENGES FACING IRAQ
Friday, 17 February 2023 10:05 PM Baghdad / National
News Center Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani invited the Secretary-General of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), Jürgen Stock, to visit Iraq.
The Prime Minister’s Information Office said in a statement received by the National News Center that “Prime Minister Mohamed Shia Al-Sudani met on Friday with the Secretary-General of the International Criminal Police Organization Interpol Jürgen Stock.”
During the meeting, Al-Sudani stressed that “the theft of public money is one of the most important challenges facing Iraq, and that combating corruption is among the priorities of the government program,” noting that “the government’s procedures require cooperation from the organization, especially in the issue of dealing with requests submitted regarding financial crimes.”
“The theft of public funds and the use of the global financial system to smuggle and launder money is an international crime across borders, and has harmed Iraq, in addition to being one of the most important enablers of terrorism,” al-Sudani said. “The return of those wanted for these crimes is one of the most important steps to deter this crime,” he said.
The Prime Minister referred to “the government’s measures in securing the Iraqi borders and linking them to Interpol services fully,” calling on the International Interpol Organization to provide support in the field of training and capacity building for cadres working at the headquarters and the offices of Interpol established at border crossings, as well as cooperation in the field of exchanging security information with member countries of the international organization, and in the field of supporting investigations of financial crimes related to money laundering and terrorist financing, and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
He expressed Iraq’s desire to make the most of the areas provided by Interpol and to contribute to the dissemination of all blue and green notices for perpetrators of terrorist crimes, especially the information shared in Interpol’s databases within the Foreign Terrorist Fighters Project.
Henig: Integrity reveals manipulation and waste of public money by tens of millions in Basra
2023-02-17 10:13
Shafaq News / The Federal Integrity Commission announced that it has carried out seizures of cases of manipulation of the names of volunteers to work within the teaching staff, embezzlement and waste of public money, fake receipts and disbursement operations worth tens of millions, most notably in a nuclear detection device contrary to the law in Basra Governorate.
“The Basra Investigation Directorate team has adjusted the priorities for the forms of the names of volunteers to work within the teaching staff and the date of their commencement issued by school administrations in the province and addressed to the Directorate of Education in it after it detected manipulation in it,” the investigations department said.
The department indicated that “some school administrations manipulated the dates of commencement for the purpose of including job grades within (10,000) thousand grades allocated to Basra education, repeating the forms allocated to each school, and some administrations adding more than (30) names, contrary to the education instructions, which allocated (5) names for each school.”
In the health departments, “the Directorate carried out three separate operations in Al-Sadr, Basra and Al-Fayhaa Educational Hospitals, in which (6) documents for the disbursement and purchase of medicines and medical supplies were seized at Al-Sadr Hospital without bringing offers and from offices outside the governorate with an amount of (62) million dinars, contrary to the instructions for implementing the Federal Budget Law, in addition to seizing (16) purchase documents for “kerosene” for the years (2017-2022) at Basra Hospital, amounting to (73,775,000) million dinars according to fake receipts attributed to private offices, as well as seizing ticket receipts. It was manipulated and falsified by ticket officials at Fayhaa Hospital.”
The department pointed to “the seizure of exchange transactions for the dispatches of employees of the General Company for the Production of Electric Power in the South / Commercial Affairs Department, whose total amounts disbursed amounted to (56,056,000) million dinars, after investigations proved that most of the receipts allegedly issued by hotels in Baghdad are fake receipts.”
She added that the nuclear detector device was seized in the Nuclear Physics Research Laboratory at the College of Science at the University of Basra, and it was purchased, despite the absence of administrative orders to do so, pointing out that it was purchased for (38,000,000) million dinars and not entered into the main store of the college, because it violated the required specifications.
In Abu al-Khasib, the original file of a property owned by the Sunni Endowment Office was seized in the city’s real estate registration note because a group of people disposed of it and sold it without legal justification, despite the existence of judicial decisions to annul all real estate restrictions made on it and return it to the state. LINK
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Henig: JPMorgan: Oil will exceed $100 a barrel in this case
Economy News – Baghdad
JPMorgan analysts said in a note on Friday that Brent crude prices are unlikely to exceed the $2023 per barrel mark this year unless major geopolitical developments occur, amid prospects that the OPEC+ group will increase supply and Russian flows will recover by mid-<>.
According to the note, the OPEC+ group, which includes members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC producers including Russia, is unlikely to defend the eighty dollar level and therefore will not need to reduce production quotas this year.
She said the bloc could instead add 400,<> bpd to output.
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Thursday that the current OPEC+ agreement to cut production target by two million barrels per day will remain in place until the end of the year.
JPMorgan analysts said that with Russian production expected to fully recover by June, and high price levels preventing the United States from buying back to boost its strategic petroleum reserves, the gap between the balance of supply and demand is likely to narrow.
Brent crude futures are trading near $84 a barrel on Friday and are heading for a weekly decline amid expectations that any tightening monetary policy in the United States could undermine demand.
JPMorgan maintained its estimate of oil demand growth from China, the biggest importer, at 770,<> bpd.
Analysts expect China to import record volumes of crude in 2023 due to increased demand for fuel, mainly due to the recovery of movement and travel after the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions LINK
