Iraq to try 'heist of the century' mastermind in his absence

Noor Zuhair Jassim is the chief suspect in a scheme that led to the theft of billions of dollars from the Finance Ministry

Iraqi demonstrators gather at Tahrir Square in Baghdad during anti-government demonstrations in October, 2019. AFP

The alleged mastermind of Iraq’s “heist of the century” failed to attend court for a third time on Monday, a judiciary official told The National, adding that Noor Zuhair Jassim would be tried in his absence if he failed to turn up again and that Iraq would ask Interpol to help track him down if he is found guilty.

Mr Jassim was identified as the chief suspect in a scheme that led to the theft of billions of dollars from Iraq's General Commission for Taxes, a department of the Ministry of Finance. Almost $2.5 billion was fraudulently paid to five companies by the commission through 247 cheques between September 2021 and August 2022, from the commission's account at the state-run Rafidain Bank, a government investigation found.

The funds were deposited by trading companies and individuals as a guarantee to pay taxes after finishing projects commissioned by the government or importing goods. The companies and individuals could later apply to withdraw what was left from their deposits after deducting tax.

On August 14, Judge Khalid Saddam issued an arrest warrant for Mr Jassim after he failed to appear at the court. On Monday, the court announced the arrest of his three guarantors, without giving more details. The court now has two months to issue a notification in local newspapers for the suspect to attend the next court date, the official said.

If he fails to attend again he will be tried in his absence and Iraq will ask Interpol to issue a Red Notice, the official added. The next court session will be on November 21.

According to the findings of an internal investigation conducted by the Finance Ministry and obtained by The National, the companies – at least three of them established in 2021 – submitted fake documents for their claims. At least two of them were owned by Mr Jassim.

The case was first announced in October 2022 by Iraq’s acting finance minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar, who was also oil minister at the time. Shortly afterwards, Mr Jassim was arrested at Baghdad International Airport as he attempted to leave the country on a private jet. He later admitted to stealing 1.618 trillion Iraqi dinars ($1.23 billion) and returned 182 billion dinars.

He was released on bail after striking an agreement with the court to return the full amount. However, he left Iraq and his whereabouts is unknown.

In an interview with an Iraqi satellite TV channel last month, Mr Jassim, 44, defended himself, saying he acted as a debt buyer and that the withdrawal of the money was based on genuine authorising letters from companies that wanted to avoid the long bureaucratic process of claiming the funds.