Baghdad - Newspapers issued in Baghdad today, Thursday, the twenty-sixth of October, followed the security repercussions and effects of the Gaza war on Iraq and the new doors to money laundering and various other political, security and economic issues.

Regarding the war in Gaza and its effects on Iraq, Al-Zawraa newspaper, which is published by the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, referred to the words of the advisor to the European Center for Counter-Terrorism Studies, retired Major General Imad Alo: “This war has its security repercussions and effects not only on Iraq but on the entire region because Its consequences will include major geopolitical changes at the level of the Middle East region, as well as at the level of the world, regional alliances, and international foreign alliances in the region.”

Alo added: “Its effects on Iraqi security have begun to appear through military attacks and strikes on sites where American forces are present, and there are political statements from American officials that the escalation of violence and the threat to American interests must be met with a response.”

He pointed out: “There are statements by politicians and leaders of the Islamic resistance factions, and the United States of America also withdrew its employees from the American embassy and the American consulate in Erbil and advised its citizens not to travel to Iraq. These are all indications that what is happening in Gaza has impacts and repercussions on security and stability inside Iraq.”

Alo pointed out: “The Iraqi leadership held several meetings at the political level with regard to the Iraqi political forces and studied the repercussions and possible paths of this war. The government, within the framework of international law and international treaties and agreements, took a position and expressed this position at the Cairo conference, and there are many meetings of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the level of Iraq’s role in the United Nations and in other international forums to demand an end to the massacres, violations and crimes carried out by “Israeli” forces against safe citizens in the Gaza Strip.”

Al-Sabah newspaper, which is published by the Iraqi Media Network, followed the issue of new doors to money laundering.

In this regard, it said: “Despite taking many measures on the ground to restrict transnational crimes, including money laundering and terrorist financing, specialists in integrity and combating financial and administrative corruption indicate that there are changes and practices that open new doors for money laundering at home.”

It added: "After real estate, precious stones, collectibles, precious metals, types of expensive vehicles, malls, and cafeterias, we are faced with a new phenomenon represented by the auction of distinctive car numbers."

It quoted the head of the “National Approach” bloc and member of the Parliamentary Integrity Committee, Ahmed Taha Al-Rubaie, as saying: “At a time when we praise the efforts of the Federal Integrity Commission and its work to combat corruption and monitor cases of illicit gain and financial inflation, especially in what happened in the real estate file, it is necessary to draw the attention of the concerned authorities to the new phenomenon that is tinged with suspicions, which is the phenomenon of auctioning the distinctive numbers of vehicles, behind which money laundering operations are hidden.”

He added: “The price of single numbers (one Baghdad) ranges from 5 to 7 million dollars after the previous price was one million dollars, and from (2 to 10 Baghdad) it increased from two million to 5 million dollars, and as for the prices of the governorates, the amounts differ, the price reaches (1 governorate) to two million dollars,” calling on “the Federal Integrity Commission and the Money Laundering Department to monitor this phenomenon to find out the reasons for selling these numbers at these imaginary prices.”

Meanwhile, anti-corruption activist Saeed Yassin, in an interview with the newspaper, pointed out that “it is striking that the prices that are imposed on buyers are astronomical and exceed millions of dinars ,” wondering about “the meaning of the rare figure reaching about 7 million dollars (from number 1) to 10 Baghdad) and the price of two million dollars (from 20 to 100 Baghdad), excluding the triple numbers that reach 800 thousand dollars.”

He added: “The general impression is that we are facing money laundering because those who trade in buying and selling are the velvet class, which was indicated by a French study, which stated that the number of billionaires in Iraq reaches 35 thousand individuals and millionaires to 16 thousand individuals, and through follow-up and circulated information there are more from an individual who owns more than one car with rare numbers.”

Source: National Iraqi News Agency