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Head of Qi card, bank officials handed jail sentences for stealing 13 billion dinars

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The head of Iraq’s Qi card company and officials from the country’s largest bank have been sentenced to three years each in prison for stealing more than 13 billion dinars. The Integrity Commission said Qi Card Director Bahaa Abdulhussein, Rafidain Bank’s General Manager Afrah Muhammad, and the director of the bank’s credit card department, Walaa Jawad, were found guilty of stealing 13.1 billion dinars in bank revenues.  Abdulhussein is already serving a four-year jail sentence for corruption after being found guilty of bribing the former Director of Public Pensions in January.

They were sentenced by Baghdad’s Karkh Criminal Court on Thursday. The Qi Card service is common throughout Iraq and is used to pay the monthly salaries of government employees. According to its website, it is a joint venture partially represented by Rafidain Bank.  The perpetuation of corruption in Iraq amongst a deepening economic crisis was emphasized by the head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) at a Security Council briefing in August. “Corruption remains endemic, and its economic cost untold as it continues to steal desperately needed resources from the everyday Iraqi, eroding investor confidence,” Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said in her virtual address to the council.

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First arrests in Iraq PM's anti-corruption drive: sources

Two Iraqi officials and a businessman have been arrested as part of a new anti-corruption drive spearheaded by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi, government sources said Friday.

The arrests represent a rare instance in which current officials -– usually deemed too well-connected to touch in Iraq's graft-ridden system -- are subject to judicial procedures.

Last month, Kadhemi formed a new committee to fight "major corruption files", which made its first arrests this week, according to two Iraqi officials with knowledge of the committee's work.

The head of Iraq's Retirement Fund, Ahmad al-Saedi, and the chairman of Baghdad's Investment Commission, Shaker al-Zameli, were detained on Wednesday.

Bahaa Abdulhussein, the head of electronic payment company Qi Card, was arrested upon arrival at Baghdad Airport on Thursday, the sources confirmed.

The officials declined to reveal any further details, including the charges against the men, where they were being held or what the judicial process would be.

"The committee is looking at portfolios that have been suspicious for a while, then its judicial commission issues arrest warrants," one official told AFP.

Iraq's court system is known to be profoundly corrupt, with judges paid off to ignore evidence or make certain verdicts.

Asked whether the courts could be trusted to see the process through, the official said the committee's judges were building "solid" cases.

Both officials said the campaign was not targeted against any particular individuals, parties or business sectors.

"There is no target list -- but you can expect more names to come," the second official said.

Iraq is ranked one of the top 20 most corrupt countries in the world, according to Transparency International.

Some $450 billion in public funds have vanished into the pockets of shady politicians and businessmen since the 2003 US-led invasion, a study by parliament found.

Every premier since the invasion has launched their own anti-corruption initiative, with varying degrees of success.

Kadhemi has made new appointments at the Central Bank of Iraq, the Integrity Commission and the Investment Commission in a bid to stem government graft.