In the chaos and lawlessness of
In perhaps the most publicized recent case, an estimated $2 billiondisappeared from funds to rebuild the electricity infrastructure.
Former Electricity Minister Ayham al-Samaraie, who holds both
Al-Radhi said the commission has investigated about 2,600 corruption casessince it was established in March 2004, a few months before the
Corruption in the country, while traditionally rampant, is encouraged byconstitutional clause 136 B, al-Radhi said. It gives Cabinet ministers thepower to block his investigations.
So far, he said, ministers have blocked probes into the theft or misspendingof an estimated additional $55 million in public funds.
Two years ago he asked the
On Wednesday, he took the matter to Parliament Speaker Mahmoudal-Mashhadani, who promised to back his efforts before the court, al-Radhisaid. Al-Mashhadani's office confirmed that they met and said the parliamentspeaker promised to support the anti-corruption move.
Senior government officials and Cabinet ministers are accused of a variety ofschemes.
Al-Radhi said that after starting an investigation of 180 Oil Ministryemployees in the southern
"I and Haidar Ashour, our representative in southern
"'If you don't stop the investigation, you will be killed,'"al-Radhi quoted the caller as saying. The threat was issued in the name of thelittle-known Southern Region Movement.
Commission records show arrest warrants have been issued for about 90 formerIraqi officials, including 15 ministers, on charges of corruption. Most havefled the country.
In October, parliament removed immunity from lawmaker Mishan al-Jabouri,opening the door for prosecutors to charge him with siphoning off some $7million a month intended to pay for food for three units of the pipelineprotection force. Al-Jabouri's whereabouts are unknown; he has not beenarrested.
Former Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan, who served under then-Prime MinisterAyad Allawi in 2004 and early 2005, is facing corruption allegations involving$1 billion in missing funds. Shaalan has denied wrongdoing.
The
A quarterly audit released Jan. 31 by Stuart Bowen Jr., the specialinspector general for
According to Bowen's report, the State Department paid $43.8 million tocontractor DynCorp International for a residential camp for police trainingpersonnel outside of
Early in the
Iraqi investigators probed several weapons and equipment deals engineered byone-time procurement officer Ziad Cattan and other defense officials. Cattan isbelieved to be in hiding.
One case involves Polish weapons maker Bumar, which signed a $236 millioncontract in December 2004 to equip the Iraqi army with helicopters, ambulances,pistols, machine guns and water tanks. Added to other deals, Bumar's contractswith the Iraqi army totaled nearly $300 million.
Iraqi officials said that when Iraqi experts traveled to
At the time, a spokeswoman for Bumar denied the company ever provided
Another case involving Cattan was a deal to purchase 7.62 mm bullets formachine guns and rifles. Iraqi officials said the bullets should have costbetween 4 and 6 cents apiece but the ministry was eventually charged 16 centsper bullet.