Iraq sentences 12 tax employees in ‘heist of the century’ corruption case

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A view of the Supreme Judicial Council in Baghdad, Iraq on December 27, 2021. [Murtadha Al-Sudani - Anadolu Agency]https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20211227_2_51486954_72006840.jpg" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" width="1200" />
Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council said Friday that courts sentenced 12 employees of the General Commission for Taxes to prison for helping businessman Noor Zuhair withdraw state funds in the country’s so-called “heist of the century” corruption case, Anadolu reports.

In a statement carried by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), the council said the convictions were part of broader efforts by specialized anti-corruption courts to prosecute those involved in financial crimes while recovering stolen public funds.

The council said Iraqi courts had also sentenced Zuhair in absentia to 10 years in prison after he stopped repaying the remaining funds he owed to the state and left the country.

An extradition file has been prepared, and the Arab and International Police Directorate […]

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