Revealing serious circumstances that preceded the theft of the century with the participation of a n

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[size=52]Revealing serious circumstances that preceded the theft of the century with the participation of a network of officials[/size]

[size=45]Translated by: Hamed Ahmed[/size]
[size=45]A British report revealed serious circumstances regarding what is known as the “theft of the century,” noting that the crime came after a failed attempt by those involved in fabricating forged documents as belonging to Chinese and Russian oil companies.[/size]
[size=45]A report by the British (Middle East Eye) website, translated by (Al-Mada), stated that “a network of Iraqi officials working within government institutions, including the country’s tax authority and the anti-corruption unit, is being investigated about an alleged plan to steal billions of dinars from the tax accounts of international oil companies.” ".[/size]
[size=45]The report added, "Those involved in this attempt, with whom officials from the Ministry of Justice also participate, targeted tax deposits paid by oil companies for the benefit of the Iraqi General Tax Authority, which investigators now believe was a precursor to what was described as the theft of the century."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that "the main companies that were targeted were the Chinese Petroleum Engineering and Construction Company and (Lukoil Middle East) Ltd., a local branch of the giant Russian energy company (Lukoil)."[/size]
[size=45]The report stated, “The plan included the fabrication of forged documents and instruments issued by the General Tax Authority in July and August in response to alleged requests from companies to recover the amounts of deposited taxes.”[/size]
[size=45]And the report stated, “These people falsely claimed that they are representatives of the oil companies, and then tried to cash the checks, and withdraw money in cash, from the branches of the Rafidain Bank, which are deposited with the accounts of the General Tax Authority.”[/size]
[size=45]An advisory source within the Ministry of Finance stated: “In the end, no amount was stolen because the value of the sukuk, some of which amount to tens of millions of dollars, and the clear desire of some senior officials to facilitate the process of paying them, raised suspicion and doubts.”[/size]
[size=45]The official added, according to the report, that “details of the documents have been referred to the Integrity Commission, which in turn appointed an investigator to examine the case.”[/size]
[size=45]The report pointed out that “some sukuk were suspended after that,” stressing that “an attempt to disburse another 44 billion dinars (more than $30 million) sukuk was rejected by an official in the bank.”[/size]
[size=45]And he noted that “Middle East Eye website viewed documents stating that some officials work within the General Tax Authority, the Integrity Commission, and the Ministry of Justice, participating in the fabrication and forgery of documents for the attempted theft.”[/size]
[size=45]And the report added, “Investigators also believe that the oil companies’ tax deposit accounts were targeted by the same network involved in the theft of $2.5 billion from tax secretariat accounts for the period between September 2021 and August 2022.” He quotes some of the participants in the investigation, “their belief that this theft attempt was an experimental stage, in which many individuals were present, and which included the use of forged instruments and forged documents.”[/size]
[size=45]And the report continued, “This process helped those involved in testing the reaction of the regulatory and administrative authorities in order to modify and correct their plan to avoid any disclosure process, and instead of using people claiming to be representatives of real companies, they used fake companies instead.”[/size]
[size=45]And he pointed out, “A senior official within the Integrity Committee, according to one of the persons involved in the investigation, sent a letter to the General Tax Authority at the end of August 2021 that was like a green light to the thief telling them that the oversight body will not interfere in the affairs of the tax authority.”[/size]
[size=45]And the report continued, “The documents that (Middle East Eye) reviewed show how the instruments that were issued in August 2021 to recover the tax amounts of deposited oil companies have sparked a wave of correspondence and audits in which officials from the Tax Authority, the Rafidain Bank, the Integrity Committee and the Commission participated. Another supervisory authority is the Supreme Financial Supervisory Authority.[/size]
[size=45]He revealed, “an official document that was sent to the General Tax Authority on July 8, 2021, which appears to authorize an Iraqi businessman to play the role of representative of the Chinese Petroleum Corporation (CPECC) in Iraq. It was verified by a notary in the Ministry of Justice and approved by officials.” In the General Tax Authority, despite previous notes stating that they were forged.”[/size]
[size=45]The report stated, "The authorization, which appears to be signed by an official in the Chinese oil company, gives this businessman wide financial powers, including depositing and opening bank accounts, withdrawing funds, receiving checks and withdrawing them in cash on behalf of the company."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out, to "another similar document that was submitted to the General Tax Authority authorizing another businessman as a representative of the Russian company (Lukoil), and it turned out to be forged as well."[/size]
[size=45]The report confirmed that “the Russian company (Lukoil Ltd.) stated in a letter it sent to the Basra Oil Company, which is the company responsible for the southern oil fields in which these companies operate, that it did not authorize any person or entity as its representative to the Tax Authority and that it had not received any tax refunds.” during the current and past year.[/size]
[size=45]He explained, "The stage of theft of the century came after the failure of this attempt, as the thieves resorted to using the names of fictitious companies instead of the names of real companies and creating bank accounts in the names of these companies in the Rafidain Bank."[/size]
[size=45]And the report went on, that “the first forged check was issued in the name of the Al-Qand General Contracting Company, and the value of the cash withdrawn for this company was close to the amount written in the forged Chinese Oil Company’s check, up to 44 billion dinars, a week after that attempt on September 9.”[/size]
[size=45]About: British (Middle East Eye) website[/size]
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