Anti-corruption commission in Tunisia reveals $1bn ‘drained’ from state budget

The head of the Anti-Corruption Commission in Tunisia has revealed that almost $1 billion of public money has been “drained” from the state budget as a result of poor governance. “The most dangerous type of corruption is related to public money,” Chawki Tabib told a press conference at the commission’s headquarters on Tuesday.

“I support the view that the fight against corruption is more difficult than the war on terror,” he added. “In the fight against corruption, the enemy is within us.” All of the files and statistics confirm that public money is the biggest victim of corruption, explained Tabib.

The commission was formed in 2011, since when it has received almost 12,000 complaints about corruption. Most of the complainants were ordinary citizens, and the Ministry of the Interior was the government department about which most people spoke up, accounting for around 10 per cent of all complaints.