Iraq retrieves $9M frozen in Italian bank
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq has recovered more than $9 million in frozen government funds from Italy, the Iraq Funds Recovery Fund announced on Monday, describing the transfer as part of ongoing efforts to repatriate state assets held abroad since before 2003.
Fund Chairman Mohammad Ali Al-Lami said the money had been held in accounts at UniCredit bank in Rome and was linked to contracts signed by Iraqi ministries with Italian companies prior to 2003. He added that additional funds belonging to Rafidain and Rasheed banks are still under legal procedures, as authorities work to complete the documentation required for their recovery.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry has previously said funds frozen in Italy since the pre-2003 Saddam Hussein era could total about $700 million. Other estimates suggest Iraq may have lost $250 billion to $450 billion over the past two decades through mismanaged or stolen funds.
Major scandals include the so-called “Theft of the Century,” involving roughly $2.5 billion siphoned from tax deposits, and separate losses estimated at $18 billion in railway assets. While the government has referred several ministers for prosecution and signed agreements to trace stolen assets abroad, the United Nations and Iraqi oversight bodies warn that political interference and weak judicial enforcement continue to hinder anti-corruption efforts.
Read more: Iraq's corrupt maze: Oil, bribes, and broken trust
