PIC: Some countries grant immunity to Iraqi money smugglers, and international agreements are ineffective

Baghdad-INA 

The Integrity Committee in the House of Representatives confirmed on Sunday that the international non - effective agreements in recovering the money smuggled out of the country, and as pointed out that some countries give smugglers immunity, confirmed that the lifting of Iraq 's name from the list of countries of high - risk, will open The door to international cooperation to recover the money.

Committee member Alia Nassif told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): "There is a draft law prepared by the Presidency of the Republic entitled the Law for Recovering Corruption Proceeds, and it needs the cooperation of the international community with Iraq after adopting and implementing it.

The committee added, "Removing the name of Iraq from the list of high-risk countries will allow it to take legal measures, and open the door to international cooperation to recover funds and stop smuggling operations from Iraq. The matter also depends on bilateral agreements with countries where smuggled Iraqi funds are located."

The committee also stressed that "some countries consider Iraq's money as booty and give the smugglers immunity and do not report the money smuggled to it," noting that "Iraq is bound by the United Nations Convention against Corruption, but it is ineffective."

And last Wednesday, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, during his visit to Brussels, called on the European Union to form a coordination committee to remove the name of Iraq from the high-risk countries that would support the government’s efforts to fight corruption and recover and prosecute smuggled funds in European countries.