Auditors in Iraq Uncover Staggering $2.5 Billion Tax Fraud

This picture shows Baghdad's Tahrir square, where the city's main boulevards on the eastern bank of the Tigris river converge at a roundabout built in 1937, on November 7, 2022. (AFP)

Auditors in Iraq have uncovered a massive scheme in which a network of businesses and officials embezzled some $2.5 billion from the country’s tax authority, despite layers of safeguards. 

The scandal poses an early test for Iraq’s new government, which was formed late last month after a prolonged political crisis. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has vowed to crack down on corruption, but few expect any senior officials or political leaders to be held accountable.