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Iraq’s government, society struggle with widespread bribery

Although Iraqis have recently taken to the street in protest of the rampant corruption among government officials, it seems that eliminating bribery is far-fetched as it is rooted in government officials as well as employees.
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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.

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