Reply #16: Iraq reports corruption epidemic

[justinsb]

Iraq reports corruption epidemic

By Jon Leyne BBC correspondent in Baghdad

There is massive corruption in most Iraqi government ministries as a legacy of Saddam Hussein's era, the Iraqi anti-corruption commission has said.

Arrest warrants on fraud charges have been issued for two former ministers in the Iraqi interim government.

One ex-minister denied the charges and the second could not be contacted.

The Commission on Public Integrity has proposed increasing salaries for public employees to help tackle the problem.

Its spokesman said the problem of corruption had been made worse by the power vacuum over the past two years.

The Commission began work just under a year ago, trying to root out corruption.

It has already issued warrants against 44 Iraqi government employees, including two former ministers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4627923.stm