Businessman, suspected of involvement in scandalous $2.5bn theft, arrested in Baghdad

Photos of the arrestee behind bars have been circulating on Iraqi social media since then.

Kurdistan 24 2022/10/25 12:04

Nour Zuhair Jassem, an Iraqi businessman suspected of being a culprit in the unprecedent theft of $2.5bn, is pictured behind jail bars, Oct. 24, 2022. (Photo: Iraqi Social media networks)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Before flying out of Baghdad International Airport, the Iraqi security forces arrested a businessman suspected of being a culprit in the scandalous and unprecedented financial theft of $2.5bn out of the country’s tax agency.

The Minister of Interior Othman Al-Ghanmi on late Wednesday announced the arrest of Nour Zuhair Jassem, one of the suspects, who was about to board his private jet, leaving the country for an unknown destination.

Photos of the arrestee behind bars have been circulating on Iraqi social media since then.

The Iraqi Integrity Commission identified Jassem as the director general of an oil services company.

At least five companies, through 247 cheques, expropriated a total of $2.5 billion from Sept. 2021 until August 2022 from the country’s tax authority. Later, a significant amount of money was withdrawn from the companies’ accounts.

Arrest warrants have been issued to the heads of the companies.

The war-ravaged country has been battered by financial and administrative corruption.