Iraq’s new prime minister vows to clean up the country

The puzzle for Iraq’s kleptocrats was always how to spirit their stolen billions out of the country. Foreign banks have been wary of accepting large transfers from Baghdad. Taking piles of cash out by land is risky; Kurds closely watch the frontier with Turkey. Now there is a new conduit. A British security company, G4S, used to scrutinise cargo leaving Baghdad airport. But in his last weeks as prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi approved its replacement with Biznis Intel, a company with no apparent experience of airport security. “It’s very easy now to bring things in and out,” says an airport employee. “A big amount of money is being smuggled out.”