The Most corrupt Iraqi official in 2011

The Most corrupt Iraqi official in 2011

Amir AlBayati

Technical Deputy Minister at the MoC

Not since the inception of Iraq5050 have we had a nominee for the most corrupt individual in Iraq quite as repugnant as Mr. Amir AlBayati. A cursory inspection of his record at the MoC and staff feedback reveals that Mr. AlBayati has established himself as one of the preeminent looters of the new Iraq. Throughout his tenure at the MoC Mr. AlBayati flagrantly and unabashedly violated Iraqi law, defied an Anti-Corruption Agency arrest warrant and has taken every opportunity to seek profit through illicit means at the expense of the Iraqi people.

Mr. AlBayati has shamelessly supported and participated in the activities of illegal, unlicensed companies in exchange for bribes while concurrently harassing and delaying any legitimate enterprises, both foreign and Iraqi, unfortunate enough to cross paths with him.

It should be noted that although retaining a position at the MoC, AlBayati lacks any relevant education or experience and has even forged fraudulent degrees to attempt to bolster his position. AlBayati's complete and utter lack of even the most basic personal accomplishment has perhaps been offset by his unabashed willingness to change allegiances at the drop of a penny, preserving his position despite his stunning incompetence and corruption.

Of note is the fact that AlBayati's own records shows him embezzling funds that were given to the MoC by the US, selling property belonging to the Republic of Iraq for less than 1% of its fair market value, illicitly and improperly completing paperwork for unauthorized projects in order to personally profit, illegally transferring corporations from Iraqi citizens to foreign individuals for bribes and generally destroying the credibility and reputation of anyone or anything unfortunate enough to be associated with him.

Mr. AlBayati's removal from both the MoC and Al Dawa Party (which has a notable history of fighting for justice and accountability) are long overdue. AlBayati should be publicly repudiated for his gross negligence, fraudulent activities and the irreparable harm he has done to Iraq's reputation with the legitimate business community. Anti-Corruption Agency must execute the arrest warrant against him, as it is only through swift remedial actions such as Mr. AlBayati's removal that Iraq can hope to surrender its spot as the nation most afflicted by corruption in the world.

Summary of AlBayati's Background

1. Finished his high school degree in 1976,

2. Completed his science degree from Sulaimania University in six years [1] while the program is normally completed in 4 years. Completed his science degree in 1981,

3. Degree in Islamic laws in 1998,

4. Worked in the UK at a restaurant until 2003,

5. Alleges to have a degree in engineering from an accredited university in the UK in 1999, however, the MoC has yet to receive a certified diploma,

6. Nominated himself for a seat in the Iraqi parliament but failed in the 2009 election.

Mr. Amir AlBayati’s Acts of Shame

Mr. Amir Albayati has been a pioneer in revolutionizing corruption in Iraq. His list of illicit and unethical activities is endless, however below is a small sample of his corrupt practices at the MoC in Iraq:

1. Mr. Amir AlBayati has lobbied and completed paper work for a company called IQ at the MoC by himself and without the knowledge or authorization of anyone at the MoC. This company is being investigated for several illegal activities by Anti-Corruption Agency and the MoC alike. For example, IQ has been investigated by the MoC for an illegal fiber optic work [23,24]. While the investigation was being conducted by the MoC for the illegal digging of fiber optic cable from Deyala to Kirkuk (please documents in [11] by IQ, Mr. Amir Al Bayati ran from office to office inside the MoC to complete this company’s paperwork. More information about this scandal can be read in this reference [3]. This company is also accused and being investigated of selling internet capacity without giving the MoC its fair share thereby causing the loss of millions of dollars that should have gone to the Iraqi people [10,7,].

2. Mr. AlBayati championed selling Al Baker University, which is owned by the MoC, for less than 1% of its market value. This act of shame was widely reported in the news and as a result Anti-Corruption Agency issued arrest warrants against Mr. Al Bayati and his accomplice Mr. Imad Mohsen, Legal General Manager at the MoC. Mr. Imad Mohsen spent almost a month in jail while Mr. Amir Al Bayati managed to escape them [13]

3. In or about 2005, when Mr. Amir Al Bayati was assigned by the US to be the general inspector at the MoC, the US paid the first deputy minister then $750,000 to the ministry of communications to pay for ministry expenses then and the payment was with the knowledge of the accounting department at the ministry. The deputy minister then decided to keep the money until the ministry inspector then, Amir AlBayati, asked him about it. The Deputy Minister then had no option but to turn the money over to Amir AlBayati. AlBayati kept the money until some courageous and honorable accounting staff member raised the issue, however Amir AlBayati denied receiving the money from the deputy minister until Anti-Corruption Agency got involved. When Amir AlBayati was asked about the money he initially denied it, however when pressed by Anti-Corruption Agency he finally admitted that he received the money but he stated he has it in a safe in his office. As of yet, Amir AlBayati has been trying to cover the trail of his theft and trying to use his contacts who appear to share the $750,000 with him to end the investigation about his theft and preventing it from becoming public. [10]

4. Challenging Anti-Corruption Agency and the Iraqi Justice system when Mr. Amir Al Bayati escaped from Anti-Corruption Agency arrest warrant. Two weeks later, Mr. Amir Al Bayati who managed to hide at a house in the Green zone, managed to get help from someone there and challenged the Iraqi law and Anti-Corruption Agency itself by appearing suddenly in his office at the MoC collecting his personal items. [5,7]

5. Mr. Al Bayati has a history of hurting companies that do not pay him bribery. Mr. Amir Al Bayati has lobbied on behalf foreign and Iraqi companies alike inside the MoC, he has completed their official work inside the MoC himself or used low level staff that he controls and affects. Examples of such companies are IQ, Ericson, Huawei, and more. He opened his arms to see their representatives, made phone calls to other managers on their behalf at the MoC to complete their work, and he himself completed the work for their companies. He equally stood firm against other companies, especially Iraqi companies, which refuse to be intimidated by his request of bribery and corruption and created all kinds of obstacles to harass them. It is a fact that anyone without a conscience can delay any official work for any company in Iraq today and Mr. Amir Al Bayati took full advantage of this fact by questioning, twisting, delaying, and torturing any company that does not show its willingness to pay him what he perceives his fair share. Companies like ZTE, and many more.

6. Mr. Amir AlBayati used his position to encourage, intimidate, impact staff at the MoC to complete his illegal tasks at the MoC and as a result he became a source and inspiration for corruption at the MoC. His known accomplices who usually aid him and participate in his corrupted acts are:

a. Mr. Imad Mohsen, Legal General manager at the MoC,

b. Mr. Passim Al Hassani, former General Director,

c. Engineer Iman Al Samir, manager at the MoC.

7. Trying to fire the General Inspector at the MoC. Mr. Amir AlBayati at some point became very irritated with the general inspector at the MoC and as a result, he tried but failed to use contacts to have this officer fired but failed. [13]. The record shows that Mr. Amir AlBayati’s unlawful income from bribery and stealing has been severely cut after the hiring of the existing general inspector.

8. Being a technical deputy minister requires someone with extensive educational and industrial background in telecommunications and computers. Mr. Amir AlBayati with a degree in science from Sulaimanea University and a degree is Islamic laws, and absolutely no industrial working experience anywhere other than at the MoC, making anyone question his judgment, effectiveness and production at the MoC. As a result Mr. Amir AlBayati decided to rely on his skills as a corrupt officer at the MoC with a job to delay, frustrate, and abuse his position to spread corruption and encourage conflict of interest inside the MoC while behaving as a religious man praying inside his office.

Letter sent to Mr. Amir AlBayati about this Nomination as one of the most corrupt individual in Iraq

Below is the letter that was sent to him in order to respond to this article before it was published, however, Mr. Amir AlBayati elected not to respond. Therefore, Iraq5050 choose to publish its article along with the letter that was sent to Mr. Amir AlBayati.

December 24^th 2011

Dear Mr. Amir AlBayati,

Technical Deputy Minister,

MoC,

Baghdad, Iraq

Dear Mr. Amir AlBayati,

You have been the subject of attacks by many articles, Anti-Corruption Agency which issued an arrest warrant against you, and staff inside the MoC who accused you for being involved in a multitude of illicit acts including bribery, stealing MoC money, and encouraging MoC staff to conduct activities that result in a conflict of interest and corruption. As a result Iraq5050 has summarized the activities in this letter giving you a chance to respond to them. The Anti-Corruption Agency arrest warrant against you and the other accusations were reported in many articles [xxxx] published by Iraq5050. These articles generated enormous interest and Iraq5050 received enormous data that we would like to receive your feedback on prior to publishing it. Your name was nominated by several staff at the MoC and other officials to be published on Iraq’s most corrupt individual list. This is a follow up investigation which Iraq5050 conducted after speaking with several of the MoC staff members and companies which have been doing business with the MoC. The allegations against you include:

a. Accepting bribes and stealing money from the MoC,

b. Illegal harassment of companies doing business with the MoC for not paying bribery to you personally,

c. Personally benefiting from companies working with the ministry of communications,

d. Intimidating ITPC officials who refuse to follow your instructions to for example, complete paperwork for companies being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Agency and the MoC. An example of such a company is IQ which is based in Sulaimania,

e. Making the business of companies with the MoC torturous in order to delay them, frustrate them, finding every excuse to delay their work since they refused to pay you a bribe,

f. You were unable to curb corruption conducted by other MoC staff since you were fearful your own corruption will be exposed,

g. Involved in enormous conflict of interest activities inside the MoC,

h. Travelling personally to the UK almost on a regular basis to visit your family who resides there and having the ministry pay for it.

i. Manipulating the tenders and their ads to be vague so that only certain companies associated with you can win them,

j. You personally lobbied for companies that are notorious for giving bribes at the ministry of communications such as the IQ, etc.,

k. You personally encouraged other ministry officials to lobby on your behalf when you were exposed to have lobbied for companies with a bad track record,

l. You were accused of conducting suspicious and personal meetings with representatives of multiple companies working with the MoC,

m. Not reporting to work without notifying the ministry,

n. Accepting gifts, travel, hotel accommodations from companies doing business with or potentially doing business with the ministry of communications.

Iraq5050 decided to give you the chance to challenge, correct any information in this article so that it may be corrected before it is published. Please take your time to review this article and make any corrections that you feel it is incorrect and e-mail it to us so that we either make the correction or if we disagree with it, we will publish your response. Furthermore, Iraq5050 shall publish your response letter at the same time it publishes the attached article entitled “Amir AlBayati’s is on the List of most corrupt individuals in Iraq”. Please respond to the following questions:

1. Why did the Anti-Corruption Agency issue arrest warrant against you in 2011?

2. Who provided protection to you to hide from the Anti-Corruption Agency?

3. Who sent with you body guards to collect your personal items form your office at the MoC two weeks after the arrest warrant by the Anti-Corruption Agency?

4. Did you return the $750,000 that was in your possession in 2005 to the MoC? If so whom did you handed it in to? What was the date? Please provide any official documentation to such effect.

5. Did you lobby on behalf of IQ and try to complete its paper work inside the MoC by yourself although you know IQ is being involved in deploying illegal fiber optic between Deyala and Kirkuk?

6. Did you lobby publically on behalf of IQ although you are aware it is being investigated by the MoC and Anti-Corruption Agency for illegally selling fiber optic cable in Iraq?

7. Did you benefit personally directly or indirectly from Iraqi and foreign based companies dealing with the MoC?

8. Could you explain how you can afford living in the UK with a large family while being paid $5,000 a month in Iraq for your salary?

9. Could you explain how you can afford your personal travel to the UK and other places while you live on the MoC’s salary?

10. Did you lobby to have the general inspector to be fired?

11. Did you sign or participate in selling AlBakei University to a private entity for less than 1% of its market value of for any value?

12. Why did you escape from the Anti-Corruption Agency arrest warrant?

13. Why did you face justice at Anti-Corruption Agency?

14. Who helped you to come to your office at the MoC to collect your personal items two weeks after the arrest warrant of the Anti-Corruption Agency?

15. What is Islam position on bribery, stealing people’s money, selling government property for less than 1% of its actual value, hearting companies doing the right thing for refusing to pay bribery?

16. Have you engaged in any act of conflict of interest inside the MoC?

17. Have you instructed staff inside the MoC such as Engineer Iman Al Samir and others to perform work for IQ, and other questionable companies inside the MoC?

18. Have you been engaged in any conflict of interest while working with the MoC? If so please clarify?

19. Have you been receiving any favor in terms of money, travel, or otherwise form any company associated with the MoC? If so please specify amount and source.

20. Have you even been personally benefiting financially from working with the MoC? If so please specify the amount, and source.

21. Have you ever been receiving any travel expenses or your travel expenses paid for by any company associated with the MoC? If so please identify the company, time of travel, destination and amount spent?

21 Who has been paying all of your regular travel expenses to the UK in order to visit your family there? Is it the MoC alone? Or other sources? Please identify other sources if any with detail.

22. Did you indeed fly with Mr. Kasim AlHasani to India to meet with Flag Communications in 2010? If so, did you notify the ministry about such visit and did the ministry pay for your travel expenses?

23. Did you meet personally with Flag in India, UK, UAE and other places?

24. Can you explain how you can travel extensively for personal purposes and pay for your family expenses in the UK with the MoC salary?

25. Have you made the life of some companies working with the MoC torturous since they refused to pay bribery?

26. Have you ever delayed, frustrated, or complicated legal work for Iraqi companies working with the MoC?

27. Do you think bribery is against Iraqi values? And if so have you ever taken any bribes in any form?

28. Do you currently benefit financially from companies working with the MoC such as IQ for example?

29. Have you ever lobbied publicly at the ministry of communications for any company? Is so why? And if you have received compensation for it? Please name the companies you lobbied for you.

30. How mush were you are worth before you joined the ITPC?

31. How much you are worth today? This includes cash, assets, real-estate, cars, stocks, bonds, boats, etc.

32. Do you believe you have the right educational and expertise to lead such enormous responsibility with no experience at all in telecommunications ?

33. Many published articles described you as member of the mafia at the MoC? What is your response to these allegations?

34. As someone who has a degree in Islamic studies, do you perceive your acts to be consistent with Islamic values and teaching?

It also important to point out that the record suggests that you have been involved in many of the above activities, therefore, please take your time to respond to every and each question. Based on your response and evidence you provide Iraq5050 may not list your name as one of the most corrupted individual in Iraq. Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you before January 21^st 2012.

Sincerely,

Iraq5050

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