An Iraqi criminal court on Tuesday issued arrest warrants against a businessman and a former government official who are wanted for their alleged involvement in the theft of $2.5 billion of public money.
The scam, described as “the biggest robbery of the century”, sparked widespread outrage in Iraq, which is plagued by rampant corruption, unemployment and crumbling infrastructure after decades of conflict.
The criminal court issued the warrants against businessman Nour Zuhair and Haitham al-Juburi, a former adviser to then-Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi, according to state news agency INA.
The two suspects are among several people whose trial began in mid-August but they are absconding and did not appear in court.
According to tax officials, the defendants allegedly siphoned off $2.5 billion through 247 checks cashed by five companies between September 2021 and August 2022.
Later this amount was withdrawn in cash from the accounts of the companies.
Arrest warrants have also been issued against the owners of those accounts — most of whom are absconding.
The National Anti-Fraud Agency said about 30 suspects were facing trial, six of whom were already behind bars or awaiting extradition to Iraq.
In October 2022, Zuhair was arrested at Baghdad airport as he was trying to leave the country.
He was released on bail a month later after pledging to repay more than $125 million and pay the rest in installments.
A judicial source told AFP that Juburi had also returned $2.6 million he had allegedly embezzled before he disappeared.
The current whereabouts of both men are unknown.
However, wealthy businessman Zuhair has been in the news again for the past few days after he reportedly had a car accident in Lebanon following which he gave an interview to an Iraqi news channel.
“The Noor Zuhair case is a scandal… that concerns the entire political system,” Iraqi journalist and commentator Hamid al-Sayyed told AFP.
He accused the authorities of releasing him on bail two years ago, allowing him to “escape”.
“His release from jail at a time when investigations were underway against him shows that the political system at the highest level is also involved,” Syed said.
Corruption is pervasive within Iraqi state institutions, and those at the highest levels of power often evade accountability.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
