VZCZCXRO4765
RR RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #1990/01 2041514
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 231514Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4054
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001990 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCOR KDEM KCRM PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: ANTI-CORRUPTION UPDATE: TRADE MINISTER'S CASE TO 
COURT 
 
REF: BAGHDAD 1601 ET AL 
 
 ¶1.  (SBU)  SUMMARY:  In a significant ruling, the Council of 
Ministers clarified existing requirements regarding 
minister-level permission to send criminal cases against 
former government employees to Iraqi courts.  Prime Minister 
al-Maliki's office subsequently announced an agreement to 
send the former Trade Minister's case to the judiciary.  The 
GOI Anti-Bribery Campaign is still a work in progress. 
Parliament probably will not pass any anti-corruption 
legislation this year.  END SUMMARY. 
 
UPDATE ON THE TRADE MINISTER'S CASE - GOING TO COURT 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Responding to a Commission on Integrity (COI) 
inquiry, the secretariat of the Council of Ministers (COM) 
notified the Higher Judicial Council and the COI July 20 that 
ministerial level permission is not required to refer to the 
competent court criminal cases against former government 
employees accused of illegal acts committed while in their 
official positions.  This ruling clarifies executive branch 
application of rule 136b of the Iraqi Code of Criminal 
Procedure.  With this ruling, Ministers cannot invoke rule 
136b to end any investigation against the former employee. 
Following this decision, the Prime Minister's office 
announced that al-Maliki had agreed to forward to the courts 
the case of administrative and financial corruption charges 
against former Trade Minister Abdul-Falah al-Sudani. 
According to the Head of Investigations for the COI, Sajaad 
Maa'touk, the COI completed the investigation of the 
allegations against the Trade Minister and he believes there 
is sufficient evidence against al-Sudani.  Sajaad said he 
does not know the Trade Minister's whereabouts, but noted he 
is out on bail and has no legal right to leave Iraq. 
 
ANTI-BRIBERY CAMPAIGN 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Sajaad said the GOI's Anti-Bribery Campaign 
launched on June 1 is still in its nascent stages. 
Nevertheless, the COI and the Inspectors General (IGs) are 
coordinating well on this project and have had numerous joint 
committee meetings to plan their strategies.  Much of the 
actual project implementation, including the installation of 
cameras and listening devices to monitor GOI employees' 
interaction with Iraqi citizens, has not been done.  However, 
there has been a media campaign to make the public and GOI 
public servants aware that such a program will soon be a 
permanent part of the GOI's way of doing business.  Since the 
June 1 kickoff, Deputy COI Commissioner Judge Ezzat Jaafer, 
who is coordinating the program, and committee members have 
conducted unannounced inspections at selected offices, 
including the passport and ID directorate, notary office, tax 
directorate, court order implementation office, and property 
registration directorate.  In the future, the Public 
Distribution Program in the Trade Ministry and various 
offices in the Oil, Electricity, and Human Rights Ministries 
will be targeted.  Eventually, Sajaad added, all ministry 
offices will be subject to this monitoring as each IG devises 
a plan to bring his/her ministry into the fold. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Sajaad could not give examples of anyone caught in 
the act yet, but noted the awareness campaign itself gives 
employees the incentive to behave properly on the job.  He 
did say a forgery gang that supplied 5000 certified high 
school diplomas for USD 3000 each had been arrested after a 
COI sting operation, but this arrest was the result of 
information obtained through a snitch, not through 
monitoring.  He lamented that some IGs and IG investigators 
were weak and needed extensive training.  Some also still had 
to obtain permission from their ministers to implement 
Qto obtain permission from their ministers to implement 
monitoring activities even though no minister had publicly 
objected to the campaign and the Prime Minister publicly 
supported it. 
 
STATUS OF DRAFT ANTI-CORRUPTION BILLS AND STRATEGY 
 
¶5.  (SBU)   Sajaad did not believe any anti-corruption 
legislation would emerge from the Parliament this year, 
although several members from smaller political parties 
continue to call for more anti-corruption investigations of 
senior government officials.  He noted members of Parliament 
(MPs) objected to various sections of the draft laws for the 
Board of Supreme Audit, IGs, COI, and the draft comprehensive 
Anti-Corruption Law; these laws were accordingly amended. 
(NOTE:  MPs from various political affiliations have told 
poloffs and the media that the Parliament's anti-corruption 
drive has become highly politicized in the run-up to the 
January 2010 elections.  The Parliament has tightened the 
procedure for questioning ministers by requiring both the 
Speaker and the two Deputy Speakers to approve such action. 
END NOTE.). 
 
BAGHDAD 00001990  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Sajaad was more optimistic about the draft 
Anti-Corruption Strategy on which Judge Rahim Al-Ugaili, COI 
Acting Commissioner, is working.  The COI will host in August 
a conference to discuss the strategy and get input from other 
sources, particularly the UNDP on the UN Convention against 
Corruption (UNCAC) obligations.  UNDP is working on a GOI 
self-assessment and GAP analysis to help the GOI figure out 
what they need in order to be in compliance with their 
obligations under the UNCAC.  The COI also wants to add new 
sections to the current draft related to their Anti-Bribery 
Campaign.  They would like to finalize the draft shortly 
after this conference so they can forward it to the Prime 
Minister for his approval.  (NOTE:  The Anti-Corruption 
Coordinating Office will be invited to this conference.  END 
NOTE.). 
FORD