Baghdad -INA
The Supreme Judicial Council-SJC on Friday disclosed its procedures regarding the cases of Nour Zuhair and Adnan Al-Jumaili.
SJC said in a statement, received by The Iraqi News Agency-INA that “The Supreme Judicial Council would like to clarify that, through the courts specializing in combating administrative and financial corruption, it pursues two interconnected objectives: first, holding accountable those who commit crimes of financial and administrative corruption; and second, recovering state funds. This can be achieved either by mitigating legal procedures or penalties imposed on those accused of these crimes, within the bounds of what is constitutionally and legally permissible”.
This approach began specifically in the case of (tax deposits), and we clarify the following:
Firstly,
This crime summarizes that foreign companies working in Iraq deposit 5% of the project value with the General Authority for Taxes as a guarantee for its completion. After the company finishes its work, it has the right to withdraw this amount within five years. However, the processing companies, including those of the convicted Noor Zuhair Al-Qant and Al-Mubdi’oun, followed irregular procedures when withdrawing these deposits. Therefore, legal measures were taken against all those involved in this crime, including the owners of these companies and the employees who assisted them in the irregular withdrawal process.
Secondly,
An agreement was reached between the president of the Supreme Judicial Council and the former Prime Minister, after obtaining the approval of the judge investigating the case, to release the main defendant, Noor Zuhair, on bail. This bail was contingent upon the repayment of the withdrawn funds in installments, in exchange for a reduced sentence. Indeed, 365 billion dinars were repaid out of the total amount owed by his two companies, Al-Qant and Al-Mubdi'un, which amounted to 1,618,370,882,000 dinars. This sum represents a portion of the total amount withdrawn from Al-Rafidain Bank by all withdrawal companies, which totaled 3,831,370,882,000 dinars (three trillion, eight hundred and thirty-one billion, three hundred and seventy million, eight hundred and eighty-two thousand Iraqi dinars).
The aforementioned defendant then traveled outside Iraq, and the repayment process ceased. Consequently, he was referred to the Central combating Corruption Criminal Court, which issued a default judgment against him for 10 years' imprisonment. An extradition file was prepared, and the Arab and International Police Directorate was contacted to facilitate his return to Iraq. Following the issuance of the amended amnesty law, the lawyer for the aforementioned convict submitted a request to have his client included under the law in exchange for completing payment of the remaining amount owed. The Ministry of Finance was indeed informed of its opinion on this request, as it is the affected party, and the Minister's approval is required for the payment mechanism of the amounts owed by the convict, according to the amended amnesty law. The court received no response regarding this matter. Therefore, the issue of including the aforementioned convict under the amnesty law remains pending until an agreement is reached with the Ministry of Finance on a payment mechanism with the convict or his lawyer.
At the same time, in absentia prison sentences were issued against 12 employees in various positions within the General Authority for Taxes who assisted the convict in withdrawing funds through transactions outside of established procedures. They are currently serving their sentences in prison. It should be noted that they may be included under the amended amnesty law, but only after paying the compensation amount determined by the Ministry of Finance. In absentia prison sentences were also issued against the then-director of the Prime Minister's office and several advisors, with extradition proceedings initiated against them in their countries of residence. Arrest warrants were also issued for others. It should be noted that the amended amnesty law could cover all of these individuals if they repay the outstanding amounts owed.
In person, prison sentences were imposed on individuals who were not government employees but exploited their relationships with the then-Minister of Finance to facilitate the withdrawal of funds from these companies. Their movable and immovable assets were confiscated.
An investigation was conducted against the Prime Minister, whose term the crime occurred during, but it was closed for insufficient evidence.
Furthermore, real estate and movable assets in Iraq and Kuwait belonging to some of the convicted individuals currently imprisoned were confiscated.
Thirdly,
Regarding the case of the North Refineries Company and the detained defendant Adnan al-Jumaili, along with several members of Parliament, the same procedures mentioned above will be followed if any of their crimes were committed before the effective date of the amended Amnesty Law. They will be required to repay any outstanding funds to the affected ministry.
However, if the crime was committed after the Amnesty Law came into effect, the defendants will be dealt with under different procedures, as the law does not cover their crimes. Therefore, discussions are currently underway, in agreement with the Prime Minister, to develop a roadmap that aligns with constitutional and legal mechanisms to achieve the two aforementioned objectives: recovering state funds in exchange for easing legal procedures for those who voluntarily return those funds.