Iraqi parliament opens first reading of final accounts after 14-year delay

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The Iraqi parliament has begun the first reading of long-pending final accounts, opening debate on closure files for three fiscal years that had been left unaddressed for 14 years, though accounts for 2015 were not placed on the agenda. According to the documents reviewed, the cash advance balance at the end of 2013 exceeded 113 trillion Iraqi dinars, with uncertainty over how much of that sum was properly closed out and how much remained open. The records also show that 18.9 trillion dinars in advances were disbursed outside parliamentary allocations and that expenditure lines recorded overruns exceeding 3.6 trillion dinars. A combined custody account held roughly 28 trillion dinars whose source and details were not adequately explained, while 15.3 trillion dinars in spending tied to Kirkuk was included in the final accounts without clearance from the Federal Financial Oversight Board. Parliamentary members have called for explanations of the violations and for accountability before any approval of the accounts. The parliament's Finance Committee stated that approving the final accounts would not close the associated violation files, and that audit notes will remain open to legal investigation. No further details were immediately available.