ALAQ HIGHLIGHTS PRIMACY OF INSPECTORS GENERAL IN

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 001963 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR INL/C/CP, INL/I, NEA/I and S/I E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: IZ KCOR KCRM PGOV EAID PREL SUBJECT: ALAQ HIGHLIGHTS PRIMACY OF INSPECTORS GENERAL IN ANTI-CORRUPTION INVESTIGATIONS ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: In a June 25 meeting with visiting INL consultants and ACCO staff, Joint Anti-Corruption Commission (JACC) chairman and Council of Ministers Secretary General Ali Alaq stressed his interpretation of the ministries' Inspectors General (IG's) as the vanguard of Iraq's anti-corruption enforcement in Iraq. Alaq noted that coordination between the IG's and the Commission on Integrity (COI) had improved. He also promised the team, as well as ACC Ambassador Benedict in a separate meeting June 26, that his staff would provide the Embassy with an updated assessment by next week of the GOI's implementation of its 18-point anti-corruption action plan, as initially outlined by DPM Salih at the first Iraqi anti-corruption conference in January. END SUMMARY. PERCEIVED PRIMACY OF INSPECTORS GENERAL -------------- ¶2. (U) In a 25 June meeting with visiting INL consultants and ACCO staff, Joint Anti-Corruption Commission (JACC) chairman and Council of Ministers Secretary General Ali Alaq stressed his interpretation of the ministries' Inspectors General as the vanguard of anti-corruption enforcement in Iraq. A former Ministry of Oil IG himself from 2004-2006, Alaq described the IG's as not only the front line but the driving force behind Iraq's anti-corruption regime. He said that by his interpretation of the law, the IG's are responsible for initiating anti-corruption investigations. Even if the COI possesses incriminating information, Alaq said, it is the COI's responsibility to pass this information to the IG's for follow-up. ¶3. (U) Reiterating from previous meetings a request for USG assistance, Alaq stressed the need for a comprehensive assessment of Iraq's anti-corruption needs as well as the challenges in maintaining staffing within the IG's. He said that he had recommended each IG to provide an assessment of what types of corruption was most prevalent in each respective ministry, but that his request was currently hung up in the Council of Ministers. Alaq added that staffing of the IG's had been difficult, with many positions left vacant, but that he had received Prime Minister Maliki's support to bolster IG staffing. CLAIMS BETTER COORDINATION WITH COI -------------- ¶4. (U) In response to a question of reported clashes between IG's and the COI, Alaq highlighted improved coordination between these two agencies. Alaq attributed the improved cooperation to the new leadership of COI under Rahim al-Ugaili, whom he repeatedly praised as "very good" and having a strong vision for the future of the COI. Nonetheless, he conceded that a large backlog of cases remained at the commission. STILL WAITING FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT -------------- - ¶5. (U) Alaq told the team, and reiterated to ACC Ambassador Benedict in a separate meeting June 26, that his office was continuing to finalize an updated assessment of the 18-point anti-corruption program, as initially outlined by DPM Salih at Iraq's anti-corruption conference in January. Post will follow up with Alaq's office next week for the updated assessment. Alaq had no further information regarding the passage of the three laws (55, 57, and 77) that would formalize the relationship between Iraq's primary anti-corruption agencies (the COI, IG's, and Board of Supreme Audit) but said he understood that the law had had its first reading before the COR. COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Alaq's interpretation that IG's must direct all anti-corruption investigations and that the COI has no authority to lead investigations on its own is not consistent with Iraqi law or COI practices. The COI, under both current law and the laws currently pending before the COR, does in fact have the authority to initiate and conduct anti-corruption investigations. Alaq's effusive praise of COI Commissioner Rahim throughout the meeting therefore comes as something of a surprise following Rahim's reported rejection of a similar order by Alaq's deputy last year that said the COI had no power to drive investigations. Such an interpretation has troubling implications for executive interference with anti-corruption investigations, since IG's can be fired at will by their respective ministers according to current Iraqi law. The new laws pending before the COR are expected to remove this ministerial prerogative, elevating this firing authority to the Prime Minister's office. CROCKER