The Heist of the Century
How IQD 3.7 trillion — about $2.5 billion — was stolen from Iraq's tax trust deposits, and how it was uncovered.
Between 9 September 2021 and 11 August 2022, 247 cheques drawn on the tax trust deposits account of Iraq's General Commission for Taxes at Rafidain Bank were issued to five private companies with no entitlement of any kind. The amounts were withdrawn in cash, often within a day. Not one of the 247 cheques was recorded in the Commission's own books.
This platform is the documented public record of that crime: the full story, the people, the mechanics, the uncovering, and the aftermath — with every claim linked to its evidence.
Why this case matters
The heist of the century matters first for its magnitude and audacity — IQD 3.7 trillion drawn from a single account in 337 days. But its significance goes further.
It sheds a stark light on the breadth and depth of corruption in Iraq: the scheme could not have run for a year without the political environment that protected it, the state institutions that signed, cleared and ignored it, and elements of the legal system that later managed its consequences. DocumentedTestimony
It is also, to date, the first major theft of Iraqi public money that is fully documented — with evidence that could stand in court, and with the perpetrators named. Estimates place what has been stolen from Iraq's public funds since 2003 at around $400 billion; of all of it, this is the one theft documented end-to-end. That is why this case could serve as the starting point for a genuine crackdown on corruption in Iraq. Assessment; estimate attributed
Its uncovering already had consequences beyond Iraq's borders. Once the evidence was placed before them, the US Treasury and Federal Reserve could no longer overlook the money-laundering running through Iraq's banking system — above all through the Central Bank's dollar auction. The CBI was pressed to bring in independent auditors, K2 Integrity among them, to vet Iraqi banks; dozens of banks were subsequently restricted from dollar transactions and a number of banks and businessmen were blacklisted or sanctioned. The causal link between this case and those measures is this investigation's assessment; the measures themselves are documented. Press recordInvestigative assessment
The case has never been prosecuted to its full extent. The documents on this site exist so that it can be: a complete, court-ready record of the theft, its enablers and its beneficiaries — ready for the day Iraq chooses to use it.
The whole case in ten numbered sentences — plain language, each linking deeper.
EnterTwelve chapters, chronological, every claim tied to a document.
EnterTen collections of primary documents — searchable, filterable, downloadable.
EnterEverything here is sourced. Official investigation reports, bank statements, cheque scans, forged instruments, ministerial orders, and court-related records — catalogued, viewable, and downloadable. Where a statement rests on testimony or remains an unverified allegation, it is labelled as such. The narrative distinguishes at all times between what the documents prove, what witnesses attest, what the press reported, and what remains alleged.