Former Iraq minister denies theft of millions

[maddezmom]

Former Iraq minister denies theft of millions
Marie Colvin
March 11, 2007

A FORMER Iraqi defence minister whose 10 months in office coincided with the disappearance of more than $800m ($1.02 billion) from the ministry's coffers is living openly in Amman and London despite a warrant for his arrest.
Hazem Shaalan, a small businessman in London until Saddam Hussein was ousted in 2003, rose in a year to one of the most important jobs in the interim government that ran Iraq from 2004 to 2005.
He left Baghdad before the next government discovered that a fortune had been looted from his ministry’s account in what one senior investigator has called “one of the largest thefts in history”.

The missing money was part of $8.8 billion of shrink-wrap-ped American cash that was flown into Iraq after Saddam fell but which is now unaccounted for. It is the subject of a congressional inquiry in Washington amid growing demands by Democrats to identify those responsible.

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The repercussions of financial dealings during his time as defence minister have been many and varied. Iraq’s Bureau of Supreme Audit investigated the arms fraud after it was discovered by Allawi, the finance minister. Although warrants were later issued by the Commission on Public Integrity against Shaalan for fraud, Juamili for theft and Cattan for embezzlement, none has been arrested.

more:http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21361918-31477,00.html

Ministerial veto, violence block Iraq graft fight
06 Mar 2007 14:06:47 GMT
By Claudia Parsons

BAGHDAD, March 6 (Reuters) - Lack of security for investigators and ministerial vetoes of investigations are hampering efforts to tackle graft in Iraq, one of the world's most corrupt countries, a U.S. official said on Tuesday.

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Poliquin told a news conference in Baghdad that the Iraqi ministry with the most allegations of corruption was the oil ministry, followed by the interior and defence ministries.

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"One of the more prevalent reasons we're seeing is that when a case moves along ... there is an article that the relevant minister can invoke to basically stop a case," he said.

"There are a number of ministers that have done that," he said, declining to say which ministers.

"That's part of the law," he said. "If you don't like it, the organisations need to work together to change the law."

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/PAR644015.htm