Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s Federal Integrity Commission (CoI) said on Wednesday it had uncovered the manipulation of more than 56,000 traffic-fine receipts in Saladin province, involving the alleged embezzlement of more than 2.19 billion Iraqi dinars ($1.44M).

The commission, the country’s anti-corruption watchdog, said an investigative team found that a detained police colonel who headed the Fines and Thefts Section at the Saladin Vehicle Registration and Driver Licensing Complex had allegedly manipulated 34,164 fine receipts under his responsibility and embezzled 1.853 billion dinars ($1.22M) in proceeds.

Acting on an order from Saladin’s investigative court specializing in integrity cases, the team seized the original 34,164 receipts.

In a second operation, investigators found that another detained colonel had allegedly manipulated immediate fine receipts and their recorded proceeds, involving 339.135 million dinars ($223,000).

The team seized 22,000 receipts, including Form 38 and Form 68 documents that the commission said showed signs of manipulation.

The investigation also covers three other officers —one brigadier and two colonels— over their alleged failure to properly audit fine-payment remittances, which the commission said allowed the irregularities to go undetected.

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