A deputy close to the “frame” reveals that the former advisor was released on bail and apologizes to the Iraqis
Baghdad / Tamim Al-Hassan
Tactically, the accusation of a former government advisor being accused of involvement in what was known as the “theft of the century” is being retracted, following it was reported that he had been released on bail.
The number of those involved in the theft has reached more than 30, while it is likely that one of the most prominent suspects in the incident still has regarding 60 properties in Baghdad.
A member of a specialized parliamentary committee to investigate this incident reveals that Haitham al-Jubouri, who was previously described as the mastermind of the theft, “was not judicially questioned regarding that money.”
Representative Ali Turki, a member of the fact-finding committee for the theft of the century in parliament, said in an interview with (Al-Mada) that “Al-Jubouri, a former advisor to the former prime minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, is accused of exaggerating his wealth, and his trial, which was on January 12, was postponed.”
Turki denied his knowledge of what was circulated regarding the release of the former advisor on bail, following handing over an amount of 4 billion dinars a week ago.
Mustafa Sanad, a deputy close to the coordination framework, revealed last Wednesday that Al-Jubouri had been released on bail, similar to what happened with Nour Zuhair, the most prominent suspect in the accident.
Sanad said in a tweet on Twitter: “Now, following Haitham al-Jubouri was released on bail, the situation has returned to what it was, which is the normal, stable situation.”
Sanad added: “What happened 90 days ago (referring to exposing those involved in the theft of trust money) when we involved ourselves in sabotaging the social, political and clan equation was an exception to the normal situation, and our entry was a dissonance at the middle.
Haider Hanoun, head of the Integrity Committee, previously announced that the current January 12th “will witness the first trial of theft of the century,” while he refused at the time, in press statements, to mention the name of the person involved in the trial.
After that, information leaked out that Haitham al-Jubouri, the former head of the Finance Committee, would be tried on that date.
And Al-Nazaha had revealed earlier that it had received 4 billion dinars as part of the theft of the deal of the century, amounting to regarding 4 trillion dinars, and at that time (Al-Nazaha) did not declare the source of those recovered amounts, while Haitham Al-Jubouri’s name was circulated.
And Ali Turki, who is close to the “framework,” says, “Haitham al-Jubouri has nothing to do with the theft of tax money except with regard to the letter that he submitted when he was head of the Finance Committee to the former prime minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, asking him to stop the audit of financial control in withdrawing that money from the tax department.”
At the time, the book, which was published at the end of July 2021, was considered the gateway to what happened next and the money that was stolen from taxes.
Turki added: “The former prime minister is the one who bears direct responsibility because he is the one who issued the order to stop the financial control procedures for withdrawing that money, just as Al-Jubouri’s proposal is basically a proposal by the former deputy of the Finance Committee, Faisal Al-Issawi.”
A month earlier, Turki had accused al-Jubouri in a televised interview on one of the stations affiliated with an armed faction known as “the mastermind of the theft of the century.”
In turn, Faisal Al-Issawi denied, in an interview with (Al-Mada), that he “requested to stop the financial control procedures on the tax secretariat funds.”
Al-Issawi added, “This happened in December 2021 (6 months before Al-Jubouri’s book) during the budget discussions, and I submitted a handwritten proposal to the head of the Finance Committee at the time, Haitham Al-Jubouri, that the tax settlement procedures be automated (converting them into an electronic state) so that we reduce the routine Complications due to complaints from businessmen regarding delaying settlements for five and six months.
Haitham al-Jubouri’s name topped the “Trend” of the circumstances of the deal of the century over the past four weeks, following announcing his arrest at the end of last November, due to accusations that his money had swelled to more than 16 billion dinars.
At the end of last year, MP Bassem Khashan accused Haitham al-Jubouri, the former head of the Finance Committee, of stealing the horn.
Khashan said, on Facebook, that “Haitham Al-Jubouri is involved to his core in the tax insurance issue. Leading point!”.
He added: “He alone wrote the proposal and sent it to the relevant authorities without the knowledge of the committee members, and what he claims regarding complaints submitted to the Finance Committee is a pure lie, because none of the alleged complainants took the initiative to claim the insurances!”
In the latest developments in that case, a deputy familiar with the investigations reveals in an interview with (Al-Mada) that “those involved in theft are most of those who were investigated, amounting to 37 personalities.”
The fact-finding committee in Parliament had announced at the end of last year, the end of investigations into theft and the referral of the file to several parties, including the judiciary.
The Integrity Committee had formed a sub-committee of 8 deputies headed by Hanan Al-Fatlawi to investigate the circumstances of the theft.
And the deputy, who asked not to be named, states that “among those involved were people who disabled cameras while transferring money from the main branch of the Rafidain Bank.”
He added that the accused, Nour Zuhair, “still has more than 55 properties that are priced in empty amounts in his name or in the name of one of his relatives.”
And Zuhair had returned regarding 200 billion dinars in two installments of tax secretariat money, according to government data.
Representative Ali Turki says, “Nour Zuhair owns 3 companies and is authorized by the other two companies involved in the theft.”
Turki confirmed that the latter “is still under house arrest until all the money is returned,” noting that the fact-finding committee “demanded that he be tried followingwards.”
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