Iraq's anti-corruption watchdog boasted on Monday 479 convictions, but just $49 million in identified graft and a 0.4 percent success rate in seizing those funds in the first five months of 2011.

The Integrity Commission, charged with investigating government graft in what is regarded as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, noted that 291 cases where criminal procedures were being carried out were halted by ministers.

The watchdog said in a statement that from the start of the year to June 1, it investigated a total of 16,860 cases with an overall value of $194 billion, leading eventually to 627 prosecutions and 479 convictions, a 76 percent success rate.

Of the value of funds investigated, the Integrity Commission identified $49 million in graft, but courts ordered the recovery of only $1.6 million.

Of the latter figure, just $218,600 has so far been recovered.

The watchdog noted, however, that 291 cases where criminal procedures were ongoing were stopped by ministers who, until recently, had the power to bring an end to inquiries being carried out within their own ministries.

Iraq is rated by watchdog Transparency International as the world's fourth most corrupt country, with diplomats and local officials persistently citing widespread graft as a major impediment to its development.

earlier related report
CIA role suspected in 2003 Iraq prison homicide
Washington (AFP) June 13, 2011 - A secret US federal grand jury is looking into the role of CIA agents in several alleged "war on terror" abuse cases, including the November 2003 homicide of a prisoner at Iraq's notorious Abu Ghraib prison, Time magazine reported Monday.

The dead man, Manadel al-Jamadi, became known as "the Iceman" when his CIA handlers placed his body in ice to slow decomposition in a failed attempt to hide the death.

Prosecutor John Durham has started calling witnesses, including US military personnel who served at Abu Ghraib, before the grand jury investigating the case, the magazine reported.

Durham spokesman Tom Carson had little to say. "This is an ongoing investigation," Carson told AFP.

US Attorney General Eric Holder appointed Durham in August 2009 to look into several cases of alleged harsh abuse by CIA agents on terror suspects that had been ignored for years.

Durham's grand jury mandate could involve charging CIA officers as well as contract employees in other cases, Time said.

"The grand jury is conducting an investigation of possible violations of federal criminal laws involving War Crimes (18 USC/2441), Torture (18 USC 243OA) and related federal offenses," the subpoena reads, according to Time.

Al-Jamadi's death at the US-run Abu Ghraib prison was officially classified as a homicide, but the only person ever charged in the case was found to be innocent.

Agents from the Central Intelligence Agency's Inspector General's office sent the case to the Justice Department for possible prosecution, but there has been no movement on the case, Time said.

The magazine first reported on the case in 2005, and ran pictures that included smiling US military personnel posing over the victim's body.

Tweet

Related Links Iraq: The first technology war of the 21st century