Ministerial veto, violence block Iraq graft fight

[maddezmom]

Ministerial veto, violence block Iraq graft fight
06 Mar 2007 14:06:47 GMT
By Claudia Parsons

BAGHDAD, March 6 (Reuters) - Lack of security for investigators and ministerial vetoes of investigations are hampering efforts to tackle graft in Iraq, one of the world's most corrupt countries, a U.S. official said on Tuesday.

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Poliquin told a news conference in Baghdad that the Iraqi ministry with the most allegations of corruption was the oil ministry, followed by the interior and defence ministries.

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"One of the more prevalent reasons we're seeing is that when a case moves along ... there is an article that the relevant minister can invoke to basically stop a case," he said.

"There are a number of ministers that have done that," he said, declining to say which ministers.

"That's part of the law," he said. "If you don't like it, the organisations need to work together to change the law."
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