Iraq on Sunday called on the US and Britain to extradite former officials accused of helping in the theft of $2.5 billion in public funds in one of the country's worst corruption cases.
Iraq's judiciary issued arrest warrants at the beginning of March for four men, including a former finance minister and staff members of former prime minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi, who Baghdad said now all live outside the country.
Haider Hanoun, the head of the Iraqi Commission for Integrity, on Sunday called on “competent authorities in the US and the UK to co-operate in executing the arrest warrants issued against them”, without specifying where the suspects are located.
He said that Interpol had issued Red Notices against Mr Kadhimi's cabinet director and personal secretary. However, at the time of publishing, Interpol‘s public list of red notices did not include any of the four officials mentioned by Mr Hanon.
Anti-corruption efforts in Iraq are said by experts to be highly politicised. Mr Hanoun formerly ran as a candidate in elections with the Iran-backed Fatah Coalition, although political parties across the spectrum have been accused of being behind the theft.
Another Red Notice has been issued for former finance minister Ali Allawi, “who holds British citizenship”, Mr Hanoun said. Interpol’s website which lists red notices did not include Mr Allawi at the time of publication. In a statement to The National on Monday, an Interpol spokesman said it would not comment on individual cases, but all requests for a red notice are checked for compliance with the organisation’s constitution and rules by a specialised task force.
An Interpol Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant but asks authorities to provisionally detain people pending possible extradition or other legal actions.
“We hope that they [London and Washington] will co-operate and extradite the suspects,” said the Iraqi official.
Mr Allawi, a politician and academic, resigned in August last year. When the scandal broke a few months later, he denied all responsibility.
The fourth person is the former prime minister's media adviser.
The case, which has been called “the robbery of the century”, sparked outrage in oil-rich but corruption-plagued Iraq.
At least $2.5 billion was stolen between September 2021 and August 2022 through 247 cheques that were cashed by five companies.
The money was then withdrawn in cash from the accounts of these companies, most of whose owners are on the run.
Mr Kadhimi has defended his record on fighting corruption, saying his government had uncovered the case, launched an investigation and taken legal action.
The four men are accused of “facilitating the embezzlement of sums belonging to the tax authorities”.
The country's current Prime Minister Mohamed Shia Al Sudani has promised to crack down on corruption since his appointment in late October.
The UK Home Office said it was unable to state whether a request to extradite Mr Allawi had been made or not.
“It is long standing policy that we will neither confirm nor deny that an extradition request has been received or made,” a Home Office spokesperson said.
A Home Office source disclosed that no information on the process would be released until an extradition of a person had actually been ordered.
The Iraqi embassy in London was contacted for comment but has yet to respond.
Hydrogen: Market potential
Hydrogen has an estimated $11 trillion market potential, according to Bank of America Securities and is expected to generate $2.5tn in direct revenues and $11tn of indirect infrastructure by 2050 as its production increases six-fold.
"We believe we are reaching the point of harnessing the element that comprises 90 per cent of the universe, effectively and economically,” the bank said in a recent report.
Falling costs of renewable energy and electrolysers used in green hydrogen production is one of the main catalysts for the increasingly bullish sentiment over the element.
The cost of electrolysers used in green hydrogen production has halved over the last five years and will fall to 60 to 90 per cent by the end of the decade, acceding to Haim Israel, equity strategist at Merrill Lynch. A global focus on decarbonisation and sustainability is also a big driver in its development.
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
RESULTS
6.30pm: Longines Conquest Classic Dh150,000 Maiden 1,200m.
Winner: Halima Hatun, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ismail Mohammed (trainer).
7.05pm: Longines Gents La Grande Classique Dh155,000 Handicap 1,200m.
Winner: Moosir, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.
7.40pm: Longines Equestrian Collection Dh150,000 Maiden 1,600m.
Winner: Mazeed, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
8.15pm: Longines Gents Master Collection Dh175,000 Handicap.
Winner: Thegreatcollection, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: Longines Ladies Master Collection Dh225,000 Conditions 1,600m.
Winner: Cosmo Charlie, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
9.25pm: Longines Ladies La Grande Classique Dh155,000 Handicap 1,600m.
Winner: Secret Trade, Tadhg O’Shea, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
10pm: Longines Moon Phase Master Collection Dh170,000 Handicap 2,000m.
Winner:
RESULT
Kolkata Knight Riders 169-7 (20 ovs)
Rajasthan Royals 144-4 (20 ovs)
Kolkata win by 25 runs
Next match
Sunrisers Hyderabad v Kolkata Knight Riders, Friday, 5.30pm
Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
England XI for second Test
Rory Burns, Keaton Jennings, Ben Stokes, Joe Root (c), Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Ben Foakes (wk), Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Jack Leach, James Anderson
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Manchester United v Barcelona, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
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