Iraq: Qusay Shafiq reveals major financial scandals and demands investigation, 19 AUGUST

 Iraq: Qusay Shafiq reveals major financial scandals and demands investigation

Public money scandals continue in Iraq

 Dr. Qusay Shafiq, a well-known activist on social media, sparked widespread controversy after revealing huge financial scandals related to the management of public funds in Iraq. He accused the government and parliament of manipulating the financial budget tables, wondering about the fate of tens of billions of dollars that were not spent transparently.

Shafiq referred in a tweet on the “X” website to what he described as the “theft of the century,” which the Integrity Commission estimated at $2.5 billion, equivalent to 4 trillion Iraqi dinars. However, he expressed his surprise at the large gap between this figure and the ongoing corruption in manipulating the budgets of recent years, as he revealed that the manipulation of the 2024 budget tables reached about $10 billion.

In a related context, Shafik touched on the Food Security Law, noting that about $20 billion has been allocated to it, but he wondered about the entities that monitored the disbursement of this money, stressing that the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank have not received any of this money so far. He added, “$10 billion was spent on infrastructure projects, but where did the remaining $10 billion go?”

Shafik discussed the budgets of previous years, including the budgets of 2014, 2020, 2022, and 2023, noting that no funds were disbursed to the governorates from the 2023 budget. This raised questions about how the authorities deal with public funds, especially in light of the Central Bank’s report, which indicated that the cash reserve had not increased despite the significant rise in oil prices due to regional conflicts.

Qusay Shafiq concluded his statements by calling for a comprehensive investigation into previous financial deals, stressing that the people’s money is a trust that must be preserved. These statements come at a time when Iraq is witnessing increasing pressure from citizens and international observers, who are demanding greater transparency and accountability in the management of public funds.

Shafiq's statements are a strong call for regulatory bodies and government authorities to take urgent action to curb corruption and clarify the fate of the allocated funds, as the Iraqi people await answers on how their financial wealth is managed.  link