Iraq’s Minister of Defense for 2019-2020, Najah al-Shammari, was arrested on Monday when he landed at Arlanda Airport, TV4 Nyheterna could reveal yesterday.
He had then been internationally wanted and arrested in his absence in an investigation into gross crime of subsidy.
After the arrest, police charged Najah al-Shammari with criminal charges and later released him. He had then agreed with the investigators to voluntarily enter the police station on Tuesday. Something he also did, according to prosecutor Jens Nilsson.
Prosecutor: No prognosis
– An interrogation was held yesterday. It was a long interrogation. I have picked it up but haven’t had time to read it yet, says Jens Nilsson.
The prosecutor does not want to go into whether Najah al-Shammari provided any explanations for the criminal suspicions.
– He denies crime, that much I can say. Otherwise, I don’t intend to go into what he has said, says Jens Nilsson.
How does the investigation proceed now?
– First of all, I will read through the interrogation when I get time. Then we’ll see. I can’t answer what happens next. I haven’t had it up in years and I don’t remember all the details. So I’ll have to read up on it and see if there’s anything else to do. I cannot answer whether it is ready or whether something else should be done or whether it should be prosecuted or whether it should be shut down. I cannot give any prognosis.
General in the army in Iraq
Najah al-Shammari’s double life as Iraq’s defense minister and criminal suspect in Sweden attracted a lot of attention in 2019.
At the same time as he received a full salary from the Iraqi state, he was registered as sick in Sweden and collected benefits. According to the prosecutor, it is about both subsistence allowance and housing allowance, from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency and the home municipality.
The prosecutor states that it is about a long-standing suspected cheating that has been going on since 2012 and that parts of the crimes are now time-barred. However, Jens Nilsson does not want to comment on the amount, but says that it is classified as gross if it is more than five price base amounts, which this year is just over SEK 57,000.
Najah al-Shammari was a general in the Iraqi army during the 1990s and during some periods of the 2000s. He came to Sweden in 2009 and received a permanent residence permit in 2011, according to the Swedish Migration Agency. Since 2015, he has a Swedish citizenship. In connection with the ex-minister’s double life unfolding in 2019, the Swedish authorities also started one investigation against him for war crimes. The case was later dropped.
TV4 News has tried to reach Najah al-Shammari for a comment. His defender, lawyer Miriam Engström, has also been sought.