Shafaq News- Karbala

Iraq’s Federal Commission of Integrity (CoI) said on Sunday that it dismantled a fraud and bribery network involving 19 employees at a grain silo in Karbala, preventing the loss of more than 13 billion Iraqi dinars ($8.71 million) in public funds.

An audit of wheat deliveries uncovered quantities exceeding production limits set by the Agriculture Ministry, with the grain purchased at a government-subsidized price of 700,000 dinars ($460.53) per ton, according to the CoI, which said investigators arrested two employees accused of demanding bribes from farmers to inflate recorded deliveries, in some cases to 20 times the quantities actually supplied. The scheme also involved forging Agriculture Department documents and registering the same shipments at both the metal and concrete silos.

Auditors identified falsified records covering 17,782 tons of wheat, with potential losses totaling 13,240,833,000 dinars.

Judicial summonses were issued for the silo director and 16 other employees, while an investigating judge ordered the two suspects detained under Article 289 of the Iraqi Penal Code. The remaining employees were released on bail as authorities continued investigating their individual roles.

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