$4 billion unaccounted for in this year’s Iraqi budget…
Massive amounts of money go unaccounted for in Iraq and this year’s fraud could hit more than $4 billion dollars, Iraqi government officials say.
The officials, refusing to be named, said that would reduce this year’s budget to $54.6 billion from $58.6.
One official said evidence was there but people lacked the courage to take the case to courts.
“In a country where one could get killed for nothing, it is almost impossible to report on corruption without grave consequences.
“The ministries have been divided on sectarian and factional lines and accusing a minister or an official is taken to mean charging the party or the faction they belong to,” the official added.
A U.N. report issued in 2008 found Iraq one of the most corrupted countries in the world.
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