ANTI-CORRUPTION DEVELOPMENTS IN IRAQ

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 001870 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/09/2019 TAGS: PGOV KCOR KDEM IZ SUBJECT: ANTI-CORRUPTION DEVELOPMENTS IN IRAQ REF: A. BAGHDAD 1601 ¶B. BAGHDAD 1308 Classified By: ACCO Joseph Stafford, reason 1.4 (b and d) PRIME MINISTER LASHES OUT OVER CORRUPTION -------------- ¶1. (C) According to media reports, in a recent meeting with Council of Representatives (COR) members, Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki acknowledged that corruption was rampant within the GOI. However, he reportedly claimed that corrupt practices were not confined to the executive branch, but were also present in the COR and judiciary. Asserting that "90 percent" of COR members were implicated in corruption, Al-Maliki stated that anti-corruption investigations by the COR needed to focus on all branches of government, not just the executive. He went on to cite examples of corruption within the COR, e.g., parliamentarians' misuse of their allowance to hire security guards by claiming fictious personnel on their security contingents and pocketing their salaries. ¶2. (C) COMMENT: Al-Maliki's comments were indicative of his ongoing skirmishing with the COR over the corruption dossier (see ref A for background). The COR's subjecting now-resigned Trade Minister Abdel Falah Al-Sudani to tough questioning in May over corruption allegations and threatening similarly to grill other Ministers clearly rankled Al-Maliki. Amidst Al-Maliki's threat to retaliate by revealing corruption within the COR, the latter has so far refrained from subjecting other cabinet members appearing before it (most recently, Oil Minister Shahristani) to the tough questioning over corruption endured by the former Trade Minister. The Prime Minister's comments were also noteworthy for his reference to corruption within the judiciary, as public allegations of abuses by judges are rare. While knowledgeable sources assert that Iraq's judiciary is far from immune to corruption, our contacts within the judiciary steadfastly -- and proudly -- maintain that there are no documented cases in recent years of wrongdoing by judges. They further assert that Iraq's respected senior judge, Medhat Mahmoud, responsible for supervision of the country's judicial corps in his capacity as head of Iraq's High Judicial Council, ensures that judges adhere to his own impeccable standards of honesty. END COMMENT COR'S INTEGRITY COMMITTEE QUESTIONS UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The Prime Minister's warning did not deter the COR's Integrity Committee from questioning Taqi Al-Musawi, president of Baghdad's Mustansiriyah Univesity on corruption issues on July 8. (NOTE: Unlike the former Trade Minister, however, Al-Musawi was questioned only by the Integrity Committee, not the full COR. Moreover, also unlike the former Trade Minister, Al-Musawi was "hosted" rather than "questioned" by the Committee; as explained in ref B, the latter procedure involves potential sanctioning by the COR (e.g, "withdrawal of confidence" vote in the case of a minister),whereas the former does not. END NOTE) Prior to the "hosting" session, a COR member had indicated that Al-Musawi would be questioned about "matters related to administrative and financial corruption in the University." Following the session, the Commission issued a statement indicating that members had raised with Al-Musawi concerns about, inter alia, whether the University had issued procurement tenders in accordance with the law. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF CORRUPTION AT THE HEALTH MINISTRY -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) In a recent press statement, Health Ministry Inspector General Dr. Adel Muhsin acknowledged corrupt practices by the QGeneral Dr. Adel Muhsin acknowledged corrupt practices by the Health Ministry's office, KIMADIA, responsible for procurement of medicines and other medical items. Muhsin said his office's investigation had revealed that a "large proportion" of the purchase contracts issued by KIMADIA were tainted with corruption, as were many of the Ministry's contracts for construction projects. Muhsin's statement follows a fire last month at the Ministry's headqarters that destroyed numerous documents related to KIMADIA contracts; authorities are investigating allegations that the fire was deliberately set to destroy evidence of corruption. (COMMENT: Muhsin himself has long faced corruption allegations -- among them, accepting kickbacks for procurement contracts -- although he has so far avoided prosecution due to his close personal ties to Prime Minister Al-Maliki. Muhsin recently requested USG assistance in reforming the KIMADIA operation, but his plan to direct personally the project renders it a non-starter, given his tainted reputation. END COMMENT) HILL