Arab countries are facing a wave of devastating violence, which the helpless people ultimately pay the price for. On Wednesday, April 10, Al-Hayat ran a story on the dire situation in Iraq today. In short, the Iraqi prime minister put pressure on the governor of the Iraqi Central Bank to transfer $5-6 billion over to him from the bank's reserves. The governor rejected the request, which violated the laws related to the work of the Central Bank. Subsequently, the governor was threatened, and the prime minister issued allegations of corruption against the governor, taking advantage of his influence in parliamentary committees and the judiciary to reinforce his decision. Such incidents take place in many Arab countries, but the fact that they have surfaced publically in Iraq is indicative of how low matters have deteriorated in that country. The debacle in Iraq coincided with the tenth anniversary of the U.S. invasion, and America's attempt to make Iraq “a democratic example" to be followed by the rest of the Arab countries. Al-Hayat's story had mentioned that the Integrity Committee in the Iraqi Parliament declared that the court had overturned the allegations made against the dismissed governor of the Central Bank Sinan al-Shabibi. The committee said that Shabibi was “targeted personally," and claimed that tons of gold had been stolen from the Central Bank late last year. Al-Hayat's story also pointed out that member of the Integrity Commission MP Jawad Alshahyla said during a press conference held the day before in the parliament building, “The investigation court competent to consider integrity issues has proven that the Central Bank and its former governor Shabibi had nothing to do with the misappropriation of funds referred to by the parliamentary commission of inquiry, or the report of the Office of Financial Control." He went on to say, “There are erroneous policies that were not pursued by the Central Bank, but by the banks that are still at the heart of the Central Bank and which are connected to major political figures, as well as consulates and trade representative offices in some capitals such as Dubai, Amman, and the state of Qatar." Alshahyla purported that “the reason Shabibi was sacked was that he rejected Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's request for funds from the reserves to finance his government, outside the scope of law or integrity." He then pointed out that “the investigation has proven that there was no corruption in the Central Bank previously, but rather money laundering operations by some banks and trade representative offices." Furthermore, Alshahyla, according to Al-Hayat's story, revealed that “tens of tons of gold were stolen from the Central Bank through the end of last year," and maintained that “the current head of the Bank was involved in that theft." The MP continued, “The following days will expose two major cases involving the Central Bank: The financing of mobile phone operators and the theft of tens of tons of gold reserves on November 15 last year, which the bank has yet to acknowledge." But the worst part remains this: Nuri al-Maliki put blatant pressure on the central bank governor to get about $5-6 billion from the bank's reserves, to finance the government outside the provisions of the law or the norms of integrity. As is known, Nuri al-Maliki pressured Sinan al-Shabibi to give him the funds in question, but Shabibi rejected this illegal request. For one thing, the law of the Iraqi Central Bank deems the latter's reserves to be an asset of the state, while the executive branch has no claim to them. It has become known, too, that Maliki had threatened the central bank governor, during a meeting attended by a handful of Iraqi officials and economists, and said that he would regret his decision if he insisted upon it, and that he, Maliki, would eventually put his hand on the funds, whether Shabibi agreed to it or not. It was clear that the allegations against Shabibi are fabricated, as many who knew him in and outside Iraq wrote, attesting to his professionalism and moral integrity. Remarkably, the report issued by the Integrity Committee of the Iraqi Parliament, which flatly rejected the accusations directed at Shabibi, mentioned that the campaign against him was “personal," without providing further details. Even more remarkable are the accusations made by the same committee regarding the theft of tens of tons of gold at the end of last year, that is, after Shabibi's dismissal. It is difficult for us to imagine the theft of tens of tons of gold bullion from an official Iraqi institution with its long history in the country's economy. So we hope that the parliamentary committee will explain in its detailed report how the theft of tons of gold took place from a governmental financial institution guarded by government forces. How can tons of gold be stolen from the headquarters of the Central Bank (worth about $400 - 500 million)? Have things deteriorated this much in the country? Were the gold bullions stolen from the bank itself? If so, then where were the guards and the police? Were they bribed as well? Or is this an operation of the international mafia and a way to do money laundering? Is it possible to carry out an operation of this size without protection and support from some influential politicians and prominent figures? This information must be published, if obtained by the Integrity Committee. One last question: Is it acceptable for corruption and theft to reach this extent, with poverty still widespread throughout the country? Moreover, what is the limit of theft these days, especially with the dramatic rise of the oil revenue as a result of higher oil prices and increased production? Will we hear about bigger thefts in the future? * Mr. Khadduri is a consultant for MEES Oil & Gas (MeesEnergy)
