Every now and then there is a remarkable photo that inspires me to write a column. Like today’s photo above of the new Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, flanked by piles of banknotes. Do you already see Rutte in front of you? According to the official account, these are Iraqi dinars worth about USD 100 million and are a small part of the amount of USD 2.5 billion that was reclaimed from the tax authorities between September 2021 and August this year.
Almost unimaginable, 2.5 billion! I myself would think 2.5 million is quite a lot, but this is Iraq, and it is not for nothing that it ranks 157 of 180 (the Netherlands at 8) on the corruption ranking from Transparency International. Not for nothing: according to the Financial Times During that period, armored vehicles transported hundreds of thousands of dinars each week from a state bank to thieving beneficiaries without anyone making a sound.
How is such a thing possible? Of course every country has its corruption, but Iraq plays in the top division. This is facilitated by the power-sharing quota system that the American occupiers set up in their infinite unwisdom in 2003. What did the Americans want with Iraq? This had not been given much thought before the invasion; I am not exaggerating. Ambassador Paul Bremer dissolved Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath Party (and the military, which the Americans regretted when armed ex-servicemen joined the uprising against them) and appointed 60 percent Shia, 20 percent Sunni and 20 percent Kurdish representatives to the provisional government. In proportion to their population.
Bremer’s system still exists, rigidly in the hands of the same political class with ministries as cash cows of the party that manages to get them after elections. Especially the Ministry of Electricity is highly sought after. Rich oil country Iraq produces only half of the electricity it needs, partly due to tampering with contracts for the construction of new power plants.
I remember from years ago the reports of multi-million dollar contracts from local authorities with non-existent companies; the American money went into the pockets of clients and boyfriends. I found this sigh about corruption in it record of the hearing of a Congressional committee on July 26, 2007 on the construction of the US embassy in Baghdad: “Billions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted on contracts in Iraq. At least one major project should be done right!” In recent years, power outages in the hot (and increasingly hotter) summer have led to furious street protests in Baghdad and southern Iraq.
Back to Prime Minister Sudani and the 2.5 billion. It concerns money that companies deposited with the tax authorities as an advance. As a prelude to the theft, the check on recordings was removed last year, after which five letterbox companies gradually paid out the money. According to all the sources I came across, a whole network of authorities must have known about it, as well as powerful politicians, ministers, civil servants and businessmen.
Sudani has vowed to catch all the culprits and, incidentally, to fight corruption in general. Ah, Sudanese. In Iraq, weak brothers are expected to pay. After which the rest start thinking about new possibilities.
Caroline Rolands is a Middle East expert and separates the facts from the hype here every week.
A version of this article also appeared in the December 5, 2022 newspaper