Iraqi deputy PM says economy in crisis and 'riddled with corruption'

Minor jobs at border posts changing hands for up to $100,000, says Ali Allawi

Iraq's economy is so riddled with corruption that minor border post jobs are changing hands for as much as $100,000, Iraq's deputy prime minister, Ali Allawi, has admitted.

In an extraordinarily frank speech about his government's efforts to introduce reforms, he said there were no quick wins, adding the economy would probably remain in existential crisis so long as oil does not reach $70 a barrel for a sustained period" and called for cuts in public spending as its revenues fall short.