Baghdad - INA
The Iraqi Federal Commission of Integrity (FCOI) and the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia discussed on Monday mechanisms to enhance cooperation in the fields of asset recovery and corruption-related crimes.
According to a statement issued by the FCOI and received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), "The Federal Commission of Integrity held joint discussions with the Saudi Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority to review mechanisms for strengthening cooperation in recovering assets derived from corruption crimes. This comes within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two sides, reflecting the growing Iraqi-Saudi relations and the development of joint cooperation in combating corruption to confront this cross-border phenomenon."
During the proceedings, which included a select group of officials from both the Iraqi FCOI and the Saudi Authority, the Commission emphasized that "cooperation between Iraq and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is witnessing steady progress in the field of preventing and combating corruption, as well as the exchange of technical and legal expertise."
The Commission called for "the formation of an effective international alliance to 'break the shackles' and obstacles of recovering funds and fugitives. This can be achieved by overcoming hurdles related to differing legislation, legal systems, banking secrecy, dual citizenship, and migration and asylum issues."
For his part, the Director General of the Asset Recovery Department reviewed "the most prominent successful recovery operations achieved by Iraq," according to the statement. He noted that "these included the recovery of tens of millions of dollars from Switzerland. These funds were seized prior to 2003 by a figure from the former regime, who exploited the Oil-for-Food Programme and attempted to disguise the sources of the funds by registering them under his own name."
He explained that "investigations, tracking, and coordination with several national and international entities contributed to the recovery of those funds." Furthermore, he revealed "near-final understandings with an Arab nation to recover funds obtained through theft and embezzlement. These funds had been smuggled to two countries by a convicted individual and belonged to an Iraqi state institution."
The statement added that "the participants in the dialogues, which were conducted via video conference, contributed interventions and discussions on the primary obstacles to asset recovery, and ways to leverage specialized international organizations to provide support and assistance in this field. They also emphasized the importance of bilateral MoUs, particularly with states parties to the UN and Arab Conventions Against Corruption, and highlighted the need to expand openness and cooperation among brotherly nations to organize specialized meetings and events related to integrity, and the prevention and combat of corruption."
