Kurdish Policy Analysis

By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj   Tensions between Shiite forces; How have corruption cases caused pressure and compromise? The anti-corruption campaign has sparked tensions among ruling Shiite forces after investigations involved current and former officials and political parties are exchanging cases involving their opponents. About 40 other people have been named in the case of Deputy Oil Minister Adnan Jumaili, but have not yet been arrested, a judicial source familiar with the investigation said. Political sources told Al-Hurrah that some forces have filed cases against their opponents. They said the recent meeting of the leaders of the “Coordination Framework” was marked by tension, with some participants calling for the opening of files on ministries controlled by their political rivals. A prominent Shiite politician, a candidate for a ministerial post in the current government, said he was under pressure to give up his share. "I may be denied my ministry. Some of the parties with whi...

By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj | Kurdish Policy Analysis Iraq's anti-corruption campaign is entering a new phase. Authorities have launched financial audits into the Green Zone and the Rixos Hotel, signaling increased scrutiny of high-profile investment projects and alleged public fund embezzlement.   Iraqi political and economic centers are facing a new wave of financial reviews and audits after informed government sources said government committees intend to review investment cases involving suspected embezzlement of public funds. At the forefront of these expected investigations is the case of the seizure of important strategic land in the green zone of central Baghdad, which was sold at very low prices, most of which were reportedly given to Khamis Khanjar, leader of the Siyada coalition. The luxury hotel project "Rixos Baghdad" is at the forefront of this hot file and the committees are investigating it. A government source said the investigation will expand to include other ...

By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj | Kurdish Policy Analysis Infrastructure projects demonstrate government performance, but without transparent budgeting and parliamentary oversight, they cannot fully demonstrate democratic accountability. The ninth cabinet has published a summary of its work. Here I will evaluate it in the light of the philosophy of the budget and democratic and legitimate governance. First, these works are welcome and commendable, but within what plan, vision and budget? Second, the lack of budget makes us not know why these things were done. Here I describe the importance of the budget not only as a doc full of numbers, but as an essential part of the rationale of governance. A budget is an expression of the authority's intention in how it will deal with public revenue. The release of this plan shows that governance is based on the legitimacy of the people, not the wishes of an individual or group. Third, the budget is legitimized by the people's representatives. Then t...

  By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj | Kurdish Policy Analysis The Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council is signaling a shift toward recovering stolen public funds alongside criminal prosecution, sparking debate over whether financial restitution should influence sentencing. In a new round of complex corruption cases, the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council has unveiled a new strategy for anti-corruption courts that creates a new equation between "punishing corrupt officials" and "returning stolen money. The court made it clear that it was willing to relax legal procedures and penalties, provided the stolen state funds were returned; A strategy that has been intensively tested in the “tax trusts” case (known as the Theft of the Century) and now opens the door to other cases such as the “Northern Refineries”. How was three trillion dinars taken in the name of "foreign companies"? In its explanation, the Supreme Court summarized the mechanism of the theft. According to the law, foreign c...