Interpol 'should help Iraq retrieve smuggled cash'

Iraqi legal expert Ahmed al-Abadi has said the international crime-fighting organisation Interpol should work with Iraq in order to recover money smuggled out of the country. The expert said Interpol’s Baghdad office was “responsible for dealing with the issue of the extradition of criminals in Iraq using the system of communications with Interpol and in cooperation with the Supreme Judicial Council, to maintain security and public order”. Abadi added that Interpol should also work with the security institutions in Iraq to follow up arrest warrants issued for people involved in terrorist crimes, and to execute decisions made by the Iraqi judiciary against people who have stolen public funds. Iraq’s Parliamentary Integrity Committee said Interpol has not made the arrests necessary to pave the way for restoring the smuggled money. In a press statement, committee member Aliya Nassif estimated the money smuggled abroad since the American-led invasion in 2003 reached $130 billion.