Yesterday, the Iraqi Integrity Commission revealed that it is currently investigating corruption and fraud cases in which governmental and private banks were involved in entering the auction of selling currency in the Central Bank of Iraq under the names of companies and private account holders without their knowledge, while the night before last found the body of an anti-government activist in Baghdad with three Bullets in the head, according to medical and security sources said yesterday, became the third activist to be killed in less than 10 days in Iraq.
A statement of the Iraqi Integrity Commission said yesterday that the commission is investigating "major corruption cases in the work of a private bank and indications of cases of foreign currency smuggling outside Iraq through the bank's purchase of foreign currency for the benefit of companies claiming to import goods, and upon investigation and verification it was found that those companies did not enter Merchandise for Iraq since 2004 ».
The statement pointed out that there are other issues «included some governmental and private banks forging and entering the auction of selling currency organized by the Central Bank of Iraq in the names of companies and private account holders without their knowledge, and providing false import bills, as well as violating the instructions of the Central Bank when entering the auction according to the provisions Anti-Money Laundering Law.
The statement stated that the investigation commission has completed the investigation of cases "that resulted in the imposition of financial penalties amounting to more than 245 billion Iraqi dinars on private banks as a result of legal violations regarding customs declarations for two years only and in violation of foreign exchange auction instructions."
The statement indicated that the Investigation Department is investigating the information received “related to the issue of volatile sukuk and some banks’ collusion with people by depositing sukuk with no possession of funds in order to participate in the currency auction, in order to profit and benefit from the price difference between the central bank and the local market. ”
It also investigated the issue of "the issuance and treasury department of the Central Bank purchasing 10 coin counting machines called comprehensive machines with a total amount of up to $ 15 million, which was found to be ineffective, as it destroys banknotes that cause a great loss of money."
On the other hand, the night before last, the body of an anti-government activist was found in Baghdad with three bullets in the head.
It appears that the campaign of intimidation, kidnapping and killing of demonstrators is escalating in the country, which has been witnessing since October 1 a wave of protests to "topple the regime", which has killed more than 450 people and wounded more than 20,000 injured to date.
The body of Ali al-Lami, a 49-year-old father of five, was found in the al-Sha`b district of Baghdad, where he had been living in his sister's house for a few days to participate in the central Tahrir Square demonstrations in the center of the capital, according to what his friend Tayseer al-Atabi told AFP. .
Al-Atabi said, “The martyr Al-Lami (from the city of Kut, south of Baghdad) left Tahrir Square at one in the afternoon heading to his sister’s house, but he disappeared. Then we found his body at ten in the evening, killed by a bullet in the head that was fired from behind, dumped in a street in the Shaab area ».
It is likely that "the assassination of the activists was carried out by armed militias loyal to the corrupt government."
A police source said that the attackers used pistols with silencers, while forensic medicine indicated that Al-Lami was wounded with three bullets.
Shortly before his death, al-Lami called on social media for the demonstrators to be "peaceful."
He became the third activist to be killed in Iraq since December 2.