BABIL, Iraq — With shocking innocence, Ali al-Sultani from Babil, a city 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of Baghdad, told Al-Monitor what he does to have official documents dealt with in state agencies.
“I often carry large sums of money and hand them over to employees in the state agencies, where I go to take care of my affairs such as transferring the ownership of a property, obtaining civil status cards for my children or amending their school grades,” Sultani said.