SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraqi authorities have arrested two generals on suspicion of taking bribes to waive customs duties, according to AFP.
AFP reported on Saturday that both men worked at the Gulf port of Umm Qasr, a key entry point for imports of foodstuffs and medicines.
A source in the Iraqi commission for integrity told AFP that “$1,000 were found in the office of the general in charge of Umm Qasr North, while the other general had hidden $2,100 in a waste basket in his office”.
“These were bribes intended to facilitate the smooth passage of cargos,” AFP quoted the source as saying.
It was estimated that the bribery could have cost Iraq $6.3 billion a year in lost revenues, AFP reported.
The sums allegedly found in their position were tiny given the scale of corruption in Iraq, which is estimated to have cost the country hundreds of billions of dollars since the US-led invasion of 2003.
