Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BAGHDAD1401
2009-05-29 10:35:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Baghdad
Cable title:
ANTI-CORRUPTION IN IRAQ: THE SAGA OF "1,000 ARREST
how-toVZCZCXRO5739 PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHIHL RUEHKUK DE RUEHGB #1401 1491035 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 291035Z MAY 09 FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3239 INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 001401
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/28/2019
TAGS: PGOV KCOR KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: ANTI-CORRUPTION IN IRAQ: THE SAGA OF "1,000 ARREST
WARRANTS"
REF: A. BAGHDAD 101
B. BAGHDAD 1355 ET AL
Classified By: ACCO Joseph Stafford, reason 1.4 (b and d)
"1000 ARREST WARRANTS"
------------------------
C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 001401
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/28/2019
TAGS: PGOV KCOR KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: ANTI-CORRUPTION IN IRAQ: THE SAGA OF "1,000 ARREST
WARRANTS"
REF: A. BAGHDAD 101
B. BAGHDAD 1355 ET AL
Classified By: ACCO Joseph Stafford, reason 1.4 (b and d)
"1000 ARREST WARRANTS"
--------------
1. (C) Judge Raheem Al-Ugaili, the head of Iraq's lead
anti-corruption agency, the Commission on Integrity (COI),
met with the press May 27 and presented highlights of the
COI's performance. Local and western media highlighted his
statement that the COI had obtained 997 arrest warrants for
officials suspected of corrupt activities. COI sources
subsequently placed this figure in perspective for us,
explaining that it represented the total number of arrest
warrants, some dating back to 2004, when the COI was
established. Judge Rehim told the press that 97 defendants
ended up being convicted in 2008, with 396 persons convicted
since the COI's establishment in 2004.
2. While our sources added that no mass roundup of allegedly
corrupt officials was in the offing, they did claim that the
pace of arrests was accelerating in 2009. (NOTE: According to
the media, Judge Raheem claimed that 266 persons had been
picked up on corruption charges so far this year, with 33
persons detained on May 24 alone. No details were provided on
the arrestees, e.g., names, GOI institutional affiliations,
etc. END NOTE.) Judge Raheem also reportedly stated that, of
the 997 pending arrest warrants, 53 covered senior officials,
at the level of director general (assistant
secretary-equivalent) and above, but our sources were unable
to verify the accuracy of this figure.
LEGAL LOOPHOLES
--------------
3. (U) In his presentation, Judge Raheem also made clear the
negative impact of two controversial legal provisions on the
COI's anti-corruption efforts: (a) Article 136(b) of Iraq's
Criminal Procedure Code, which authorizes a minister to block
the prosecution of Ministry employees for corruption and
other criminal acts, and (b) the Amnesty Law of February
2008, which granted amnesty to thousands of persons being
prosecuted, or already convicted, on various criminal
charges. Raheem reportedly told the media that prosecutions
and convictions of some 2,772 persons in corruption cases
were nullified by the amnesty law. (COMMENT: Per ref a, we
had previously estimated the number of corruption-related
beneficiaries of the Amnesty Law at 1,721; in any case, the
upshot was that a large proportion of all anti-corruption
cases -- including the convictions cited by Raheem -- were
either dismissed or closed. To be sure, the bulk of the
estimated 20,000 beneficiaries were implicated in crimes
other than corruption. END COMMENT) Raheem indicated that
corruption cases involving 650 billion dinars (approx. $520
million) were aborted by the law. He added that Article
136(b) was used to block prosecution of 70 persons on
corruption charges in 2008.
COMMENT
--------------
4. (C) Judge Raheem's presentation was doubtless designed to
portray a COI fully engaged in its mission amidst the GOI
leadership's heightened profile of late on the
anti-corruption dossier (ref b). In his recitation of facts
and figures, he drew in part from the COI's recently
published report for 2008. (NOTE: At present, the text is
available only in Arabic, and we are arranging for
translation. END NOTE). At this juncture, the COI head's
presentation raises as many questions as answers,
particularly concerning prospects for actual prosecution of
the reported 53 senior officials among those covered by the
997 pending arrest warrants. We are also seeking more
details on the 97 convictions in 2008 announced by Judge
Raheem -- up from the 87 previously reported (ref a).
QRaheem -- up from the 87 previously reported (ref a).
Finally, his presentation underscores the extent to which the
Amnesty Law and Article 136(b) have stymied the GOI's
anti-corruption efforts. Regarding the Amnesty Law, in
particular, it was designed to facilitate the release of
detainees against whom there was insufficient evidence to
warrant prosecution. END COMMENT
HILL
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/28/2019
TAGS: PGOV KCOR KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: ANTI-CORRUPTION IN IRAQ: THE SAGA OF "1,000 ARREST
WARRANTS"
REF: A. BAGHDAD 101
B. BAGHDAD 1355 ET AL
Classified By: ACCO Joseph Stafford, reason 1.4 (b and d)
"1000 ARREST WARRANTS"
--------------
1. (C) Judge Raheem Al-Ugaili, the head of Iraq's lead
anti-corruption agency, the Commission on Integrity (COI),
met with the press May 27 and presented highlights of the
COI's performance. Local and western media highlighted his
statement that the COI had obtained 997 arrest warrants for
officials suspected of corrupt activities. COI sources
subsequently placed this figure in perspective for us,
explaining that it represented the total number of arrest
warrants, some dating back to 2004, when the COI was
established. Judge Rehim told the press that 97 defendants
ended up being convicted in 2008, with 396 persons convicted
since the COI's establishment in 2004.
2. While our sources added that no mass roundup of allegedly
corrupt officials was in the offing, they did claim that the
pace of arrests was accelerating in 2009. (NOTE: According to
the media, Judge Raheem claimed that 266 persons had been
picked up on corruption charges so far this year, with 33
persons detained on May 24 alone. No details were provided on
the arrestees, e.g., names, GOI institutional affiliations,
etc. END NOTE.) Judge Raheem also reportedly stated that, of
the 997 pending arrest warrants, 53 covered senior officials,
at the level of director general (assistant
secretary-equivalent) and above, but our sources were unable
to verify the accuracy of this figure.
LEGAL LOOPHOLES
--------------
3. (U) In his presentation, Judge Raheem also made clear the
negative impact of two controversial legal provisions on the
COI's anti-corruption efforts: (a) Article 136(b) of Iraq's
Criminal Procedure Code, which authorizes a minister to block
the prosecution of Ministry employees for corruption and
other criminal acts, and (b) the Amnesty Law of February
2008, which granted amnesty to thousands of persons being
prosecuted, or already convicted, on various criminal
charges. Raheem reportedly told the media that prosecutions
and convictions of some 2,772 persons in corruption cases
were nullified by the amnesty law. (COMMENT: Per ref a, we
had previously estimated the number of corruption-related
beneficiaries of the Amnesty Law at 1,721; in any case, the
upshot was that a large proportion of all anti-corruption
cases -- including the convictions cited by Raheem -- were
either dismissed or closed. To be sure, the bulk of the
estimated 20,000 beneficiaries were implicated in crimes
other than corruption. END COMMENT) Raheem indicated that
corruption cases involving 650 billion dinars (approx. $520
million) were aborted by the law. He added that Article
136(b) was used to block prosecution of 70 persons on
corruption charges in 2008.
COMMENT
--------------
4. (C) Judge Raheem's presentation was doubtless designed to
portray a COI fully engaged in its mission amidst the GOI
leadership's heightened profile of late on the
anti-corruption dossier (ref b). In his recitation of facts
and figures, he drew in part from the COI's recently
published report for 2008. (NOTE: At present, the text is
available only in Arabic, and we are arranging for
translation. END NOTE). At this juncture, the COI head's
presentation raises as many questions as answers,
particularly concerning prospects for actual prosecution of
the reported 53 senior officials among those covered by the
997 pending arrest warrants. We are also seeking more
details on the 97 convictions in 2008 announced by Judge
Raheem -- up from the 87 previously reported (ref a).
QRaheem -- up from the 87 previously reported (ref a).
Finally, his presentation underscores the extent to which the
Amnesty Law and Article 136(b) have stymied the GOI's
anti-corruption efforts. Regarding the Amnesty Law, in
particular, it was designed to facilitate the release of
detainees against whom there was insufficient evidence to
warrant prosecution. END COMMENT
HILL