Shocking figures: Iraqi official says more than $2tn stolen since 2003

An Iraqi official has claimed that more than $2 trillion has been stolen from Iraq since 2003, describing the scale of corruption and illicit wealth as “beyond belief”.

Munir Haddad, legal adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi, told the state-run Iraqi TV channel that the value of stolen public funds had exceeded $2 trillion since the 2003 US-led invasion.

Haddad said investigations into those arrested on corruption charges were continuing and that there were no final figures on the number of suspects, as daily raids and arrests were still being carried out.

He said key suspects had made detailed confessions that led security and judicial authorities to identify and arrest more individuals. Some suspects had attempted to flee Iraq or seek refuge in the Kurdistan Region, which he said had cooperated by handing over eight suspects so far.

Haddad added that the list of suspects includes senior current and former government officials, as well as members of parliament. He said the cases involve not only embezzlement but also unexplained wealth, investigated under Iraq’s “Where did you get this?” principle, with such cases legally classified as money laundering offences.

He said the assets uncovered in the possession of deputy ministers and other senior officials were “unbelievable”, citing one case in which the wife of a suspect purchased a property worth $5 million, an amount sufficient to build the largest villa in Paris or Amsterdam. He added that some officials were found to own more than 50 properties registered in their own names or those of their family members.

Haddad also said that trials of those accused of corruption would be held in public.