Iraqi President Barham Salih said that $ 150 billion had been smuggled from corruption deals abroad since 2003, indicating that these funds were enough to put the country in a better place.
In a televised speech on Sunday, Saleh announced that he had submitted a bill to "recover the proceeds of corruption" to Parliament to recover the money, hold the corrupt accountable, and bring them to justice, he said.
Saleh said in his speech that government and international statistics and data estimate that the total financial revenues of Iraq derived from oil since 2003 are close to one thousand billion dollars.
He explained that the draft law includes support for financial and supervisory institutions and activating their tools, indicating that corruption has disrupted the people's will to progress and build, and caused the young demonstrators to leave to demand a country free of corruption.
He pointed out that it is not possible to deal with corruption locally, noting that the draft law on recovering proceeds of corruption seeks to recover smuggled money through agreements with states and cooperation with international bodies.
President @BarhamSalih: Corruption disrupts the people's will to progress and build, and because of it, masses of young protesters have come out demanding a homeland, a nation free of corruption, whose wealth is protected and devoted to serving the people and the elevation of the nation.
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- Presidency of the Republic of Iraq (@IraqiPresidency) May 23, 2021
The President of the Republic called for "the formation of an international coalition against corruption," indicating that "corruption is the political economy of violence," stressing that "all institutions must take a serious, decisive and resolute stand to confront the scourge of corruption," stressing that "corruption is no less dangerous than terrorism."
The Iraqi supervisory authorities announce the continued issuance of arrest warrants and confiscation of movable and immovable funds of prominent officials, including ministers, governors and general managers, on charges related to financial and administrative corruption.
And Iraq is among the most corrupt countries in the world, according to Transparency International's index over the past years, and international reports are always received to monitor "waste and embezzlement" in it.