Iraqi Embassy in Moscow Robbed

Thieves have reportedly stolen three million dollars from the embassy's safe

The Iraqi embassy has been robbed in Moscow, an official spokesman for the Moscow Central Police Department Kirill Mazurin said. An assistant of the embassy called the police at 6:25 a.m. and reported an embezzlement of a large sum of money. An assistant said, three strangers made their way on the territory of the embassy, beat the guard, made him open the safe and stole about three million dollars and more than 100,000 euros. A group of police officers arrived to the building  investigate the crime.

According to the information from Reuters, Moscow police officers have certain doubts about the incident. "We do not know exactly how much money has been stolen exactly," a police officer said. A spokesman for the Iraqi embassy, who wished to remain anonymous, also refused to inform at least the approximate sum of the stolen money. Commenting on the news about the robbery, he mentioned that it was probably about three million dollars or a bit more. In an interview to Interfax, a spokesman also said that the details of the incident were not known yet.

On the threshold of the incident, a source in the Iraqi embassy said, Abbas Halaf was not going to return to Moscow as an ambassador. He reportedly decided to finish his diplomatic career and retire. A source did not exclude, the former ambassador would return to Russia soon, although as a private person.

Nothing is known about the candidacy of the new Iraqi ambassador in Moscow, "it is too early to say anything about it," a source said. After Abbas Halaf was recalled to Baghdad, the Iraqi embassy was working in a restricted regime, expecting new instructions from Iraq. It is not known, when the embassy is able to resume the diplomatic activity completely: "It might happen in August, in September, and even later," an anonymous official said.

The diplomat, who took the ambassador's functions in his absence, said, the embassy suspended its diplomatic activity in Moscow after Abbas Halaf had been recalled. Almost the entire administration of the Iraqi embassy was called off together with the ambassador in the beginning of June. Advisors, military attache, spokespeople for various departments - all returned to Iraq. "Only secretaries and diplomats of lower ranks stayed in Moscow  at the embassy," a source said.

The latest information

As it was reported, the Iraqi embassy in Moscow was robbed last night - Russian-speaking criminals stole about three million dollars. "According to our information, three armed men penetrated into the building of the embassy at about 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning. They tied up the Iraqi guard, who was sleeping in the premises, and then stole about three million dollars from the safe of the embassy. The three criminals were speaking Russian very well," an anonymous officials of the Iraqi embassy said Tuesday.

The official added, the stolen money was meant to provide the normal work of the embassy, particularly to pay the rent, to pay wages to the personnel and so on. The Russian police officer on guard did not see the three strangers, but it can be explained with the fact that the building of the embassy is rather large. In addition to it, the thieves penetrated in it from the back side - there was  not a police post there.