The financial disclosure form: who must file and when
Many newly appointed officials, directors general, officers and university presidents receive notice to submit the "financial disclosure form", and ask about the deadline, the effect of delay and what to write. The office of lawyer Ali Barakat in Baghdad explains what the Integrity Commission and Illicit Gain Law provides on this.
The basis: the form and the regulation
The sixth paragraph of the first article defines the form as the financial disclosure statement form issued by the Commission. Under the fourth paragraph of the sixth article, the head of the Commission issues the regulation on financial disclosure. Under the tenth article, the prevention department follows the submission of reports, checks the accuracy of their information and examines growth in filers' wealth. The fifth paragraph of the third article allows the Commission to issue regulatory instructions with the force of law, consistent with the law, requiring officials to disclose their finances, outside activities and investments.
Who must file?
The first paragraph of article 16 lists the posts whose holders, substantive or acting, must file. Examples include:
- The President and Vice-Presidents; the Speaker, deputies and members of the Council of Representatives; the Prime Minister, deputies, ministers and those of equivalent rank.
- Heads of independent bodies and their deputies, deputy ministers, holders of special and senior grades, and directors general and those of equivalent rank.
- Heads and members of provincial councils; governors, their deputies, assistants and advisers; district and sub-district heads; and directors of departments in provinces not organised in a region.
- Presidents of public and private universities and college deans.
- Officers from the rank of lieutenant colonel upwards in all military and security formations, and intelligence officers from battalion level upwards.
- Chairs and members of boards of public-sector and mixed companies, and chairs and members of boards and heads of sections of investment bodies.
- Heads of associations, unions, syndicates and organisations; founders and heads of political parties; and staff and investigators of the Integrity Commission.
The list in the text is longer, so the article itself is the reference.
Filing outside the list
The second paragraph of article 16 allows the Commission to require any official or person in public service to disclose where a report supported by credible evidence points to illicit gain. The third paragraph allows it to require any political organisation, NGO, union, syndicate or association to prove the lawfulness of its sources of funding and donations and its spending. The fourth paragraph provides for coordination with the Region's integrity body for officeholders there.
Deadlines
Article 17 sets three deadlines:
- Within ninety days of taking up the post or office.
- Within ninety days of the end of the relationship with it.
- During January of every year.
Under the second paragraph, the filer must answer the Commission's observations within sixty days of being notified. This deadline is often overlooked, even though a documented answer is what closes the question about any discrepancy.
Effect of delay or refusal
- Salary suspension: the first paragraph of article 18 suspends the filer's salary and allowances if the form is not filed on time, and the employing body notifies the Commission of the suspension decision.
- Penalty: the first paragraph of article 19 punishes refusal to file without lawful excuse with detention of up to one year.
- Inquiry despite non-filing: failure to file does not prevent the Commission from inquiring into the finances of the filer, spouse and children, under the third paragraph of article 17.
Accuracy of information
The fifth paragraph of article 19 punishes with detention of at least one year any filer who deliberately conceals required information or gives false information shown to be connected with illicit gain. The form should therefore be completed from documents: property deeds, account statements, sale contracts and inheritance deeds. The details cover the spouse's and children's wealth, and the law defines children as minors, the unmarried, and those not financially independent.
Confidentiality
The ninth paragraph of article 17 prohibits disclosing any information, documents or examination steps relating to the form to anyone not legally authorised, and the sixth paragraph of article 19 punishes anyone who discloses such information through his or her post. The Federal Board of Supreme Audit examines the forms of the Commission's head, deputy and staff under the eighth paragraph of article 17.
Legal basis and sources
- Integrity Commission Law No. 30 of 2011, articles 1, 3, 6, 10, 16, 17, 18 and 19 (Official Gazette, issue 4217 of 14/11/2011)
- First Amendment to the Integrity Commission Law, Law No. 30 of 2019 (Official Gazette, issue 4568 of 23/12/2019)
Frequently asked questions
I have been appointed a director general. When do I file?
Within ninety days of taking up the post, then each January, then within ninety days of leaving it.
I received observations from the Commission. How long do I have to answer?
Sixty days from notification, under the second paragraph of article 17.
How does the form relate to an illicit gain charge?
Examination may reveal a disproportionate increase, which starts the route explained on illicit gain.
Related topics and articles
- 01Illicit gain in Iraqi law: definition, proof and penaltyThe definition of illicit gain in the seventh paragraph of article 1 of Iraq's Integrity Commission and Illicit Gain Law No. 30 of 2011 as amended, when a file opens, the ninety days to prove sources, and the penalties and return of value in article 19.
- 02Conflict of interest for public officials under the Integrity Commission LawThe definition of conflict of interest in the eighth paragraph of article 1 of the amended Integrity Commission and Illicit Gain Law, the ban on appointing relatives to the second degree, the choice between removing the conflict or leaving the post, and the penalty with dismissal in article 19.
- 03The Federal Integrity Commission: mandate, structure and limitsThe eight duties of the Federal Integrity Commission in article 3 of Iraq's Integrity Commission and Illicit Gain Law No. 30 of 2011 as amended, its head, deputies and departments, oversight by the Council of Representatives, and the limits on its work inside ministries.
- 04Reporting a corruption offence: where to go and what happens nextReporting corruption offences under articles 1, 47, 48 and 49 of Iraq's Criminal Procedure Law No. 23 of 1971, keeping the reporter's identity confidential, an official's duty to report, and the Integrity Commission head's power to shelve reports under article 13 of its law.
- 05The investigation route in integrity cases: the Commission, the investigative judge and the public prosecutionHow corruption cases are investigated: Integrity Commission investigators under the investigative judge's supervision, the priority of the Commission's jurisdiction, notice to its legal department, requests to take over a case, and the judge's decisions after investigation, under the Commission's law and the Criminal Procedure Law.