With the government's attention towards activating the informants law, the financial rewards allocated for those who provide information contributing to uncovering corruption cases and recovering public funds have emerged as one of the tools that can encourage citizens and employees to report cases of waste or misappropriation of public money.
One of the most notable points is the mechanism for calculating the reward, as the spokesperson for the Iraqi government, Haidar Al-Abboudi, indicated that some rewards could reach 5 percent of the value of the recovered funds as a result of the report.
In simple terms, the percentage is not calculated from the total amount that a person is accused of misappropriating, but rather from the funds that have actually been recovered in cases where the law applies and where the reward is deserved.
For example, if a report contributed to recovering one billion dinars, then 5 percent would equal 50 million dinars, while if the recovered funds reached 10 billion dinars, then 5 percent of that would equal 500 million dinars, according to the criteria for eligibility and the disbursement mechanism determined by the law and the relevant authorities.
This comes at a time when Al-Abboudi revealed that authorities have received 26,000 reports about corruption cases during the campaign they are waging to recover stolen state funds.
Al-Abboudi clarified, in a statement to the official television, which was reviewed by the "Video News Agency", that "the reports from Iraqis contributed to returning one trillion and 359 billion dinars to the state treasury, according to the latest disclosure made by the Integrity Commission on Saturday during its meeting with Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaydi".
The spokesperson confirmed that "activating the informants law encourages citizens to report corruption, especially since some rewards reach 5 percent of the value of the recovered funds".
Regarding the activation of the law, Al-Abboudi said that "fighting corruption needs partners, as the government alone without the Supreme Judicial Council, the Integrity Commission, the Audit Bureau, and the oversight and integrity system in general, alongside the citizen and the employee, without this strategic partnership, the government may not be able to progress in this file".
He added, "Activating the role of the informant represents a step towards reaching corrupt individuals, preventing and enabling us to mitigate the risks that affect public funds of the state," noting that "activating the role of the informant incentivizes the informant, where some rewards reach 5 percent of the total recovered from these funds, as the number of reports reached 26,000".
According to the figures announced by the spokesperson, the amount of money recovered as a result of the reports represents a part of the results of the government campaign to pursue the stolen funds, while the aim of activating the informants law is to expand the circle of participation in uncovering suspicions of corruption by granting a larger role to citizens and employees in reporting violations.
Al-Abboudi emphasized that "Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaydi confirmed that fighting corruption is one of the most important priorities of the government as stated in the ministerial program and the government program," pointing to "supporting the Integrity Commission in implementing its procedures and providing the necessary momentum."
He also reassured citizens that "the file is being monitored by the top executive official of the state".
The actual value of the reward remains linked to what is determined by the law and the adopted criteria regarding the informant's entitlement, in addition to the value of the funds that are actually recovered as a result of the provided information, making the 5 percent rate a ceiling for the reward in some cases, rather than a fixed amount for each report.