Iraqi premier protected relatives from corruption probes

October 4, 2007

Baghdad, Iraq - A former Iraqi government watchdog testified before Congress on Thursday that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has protected relatives and political allies from corruption probes amid a climate of worsening graft that has cost the country billions of dollars.

Corruption has affected "virtually every agency and ministry, including some of the most powerful officials in Iraq," said Judge Radhi Hamza al-Radhi, the former head of the Iraqi Commission on Public Integrity.

Al-Radhi said corruption has seeped into the oil sector -- the nation's largest source of income -- and has "stopped the process of reconstruction in Iraq." He estimated the total lost to corruption at $18 billion.

Widespread payoffs and threats of retribution have not only contributed to the failure of the government of Iraq to control the militias that control parts of the government, but it has helped fund the Iraqi military and police and the sectarian militias themselves, he said.

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh acknowledged that Iraq is plagued with a "high level" of corruption. But he said that the government is trying to rein in the problem.

© AR News