Exclusive: Palestinian audit chief accused of corruption

The head of Palestine's top watchdog authority is involved in legal and administrative violations, a new investigation by The New Arab has found.

Iyad Tayem heads the Palestinian State Audit and Administrative Control Bureau (SAACB), which supervises all state institutions, from the President's office to the government and all Palestinian institutions operating in the occupied territories.

According to a series of exclusive leaked documents obtained by The New Arab, Tayem has been receiving two salaries; one is a pension from his former service as a judge, and the other is for his current position as head of SAACB.

This is a violation of Palestinian laws, as well as the watchdog's mission statement, which pledges to "expose financial and administrative violations, including abuse of public office".

Tayem commented saying that whether it was one salary or two, it still falls under the ministry of finance and the public Employees Bureau.

"Salaries are not given at random," he told The New Arab.

"There is a law issued by President Mahmoud Abbas, as well as the financial system of the Employees Bureau."

Legal expert Essam Abdeen disagreed, citing Article 5 of the Presidential decree number 61/2010, which clearly stipulates that the head of SAACB may not combine his monthly salary with any other payment, salary or pension from the public budget.

However, citing the same decree, Tayem responded saying that he was allowed to combine his salary and pension as long as the total does not exceed the limit mentioned in the decree.

"This is my right, and the decree, which was issued five years before I took this position, is clear," he said.

Abdeen responded to this saying that the decree allows the chief of SAACB to combine two pensions after he retires from his position, rather than combine a pension and a salary while still in service.

Hajj draw

The second violation committed by Tayem as chief of SAACB was listing his parents and others as special cases in the 2015 Hajj Draw, an annual equal opportunity draw to select a limited number of people who wish to perform the Muslim holy pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, as the number of Hajj visas granted every year is limited.

According to leaked documents, Tayem asked religious endowments minister Youssef Ideiss if he could get the visas to perform Hajj with his parents after "paying Hajj expenses and fees in assets", according to a letter from SAACB.

Tayem requested to pay Hajj expenses for him and his parents in assets [The New Arab]

He also recommended other people to get the Hajj visa in another letter to the ministry of religious endowments.

"Nearly 70 percent of special passes were granted to people who did not deserve it and had not registered for Hajj in advance," SAACB's final report on the 2015 Hajj season read.

"It is necessary to adopt clear measures approved by the ministry of religious endowments on the selection of special cases for Hajj," the report recommended.

"The lack of these measures leads to the absence of transparency and clarity in the selection process."

Legal sources have described this violation as a severe blow to the essence of the Palestinian Basic Law, as well as a conflict of interests, as SAACB represents the highest authority supervising the Hajj season.

In response, Tayem said the policies of the ministry allow special places for senior officials and ministers.

"The least it could do is allow them to perform Hajj at their own expense," he said.

"I could have performed Hajj by accompanying the SAACB delegation that supervises the Hajj season, but I refused an insisted on going at my own expense, taking my parents with me."