Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council announced on Monday, 13 July, that it had recovered 375 kilograms of gold as part of a corruption case involving detained Deputy Oil Minister Adnan Al-Jumaili, who remains under investigation.
The announcement comes as Iraqi authorities persist in a sweeping anti-corruption campaign launched weeks ago targeting cases linked to the oil and electricity ministries.
The campaign has led to the arrest of dozens of officials, members of parliament and politicians, and according to a recent briefing issued by the Supreme Judicial Council, 358 kilograms of gold were recovered in the Al-Jumaili case.
The statement quoted Judge Diaa Jaafar, who oversees the Corruption Crimes Court, as saying that 375 kilograms of gold had been seized in the case.
He said the gold was confiscated in coordination with authorities in the Kurdistan Region and the Judicial Council.
Jaafar said the recovered gold had been transferred to the treasury at the Central Bank of Iraq as part of efforts to complete the investigation into Deputy Oil Minister Adnan Al-Jumaili, recover the movable and immovable assets obtained through the crime, and punish those responsible in accordance with the law.
The state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) published photographs showing large quantities of gold being transported to the custody of the Central Bank of Iraq.
In the same context, an Iraqi official at the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers in Baghdad said the Interior Ministry was coordinating with the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) and several countries with which Baghdad has security agreements to extradite more than 40 people implicated in corruption and illicit enrichment cases.
The official said that at least 30 suspects or individuals implicated in the cases fled to several countries in the first days of the campaign and that efforts are underway to secure their extradition.
He cited significant cooperation from Jordan, Turkey, the UAE and Greece, adding that Iraq is expected to receive a number of those who fled to those countries in the coming days.
According to the source, who spoke to TNA on condition of anonymity, the coming days will see further arrest warrants released against individuals implicated in cases involving certificates and investment licences that resulted in financial waste or bribes paid to officials.
The Iraqi parliament approved referring the case of dismissed National Investment Commission head Haider Makkiya to the Integrity Commission, two days after voting to remove him during a parliamentary questioning session he did not attend.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transport approved a decision to suspend the powers of Iraqi Airways Director General Manaf Abdul Munim until the conclusion of an investigation into "financial files".
On Monday, Iraqi security forces arrested former Parliamentary Integrity Committee chairman Talal Al-Zobaie on corruption charges, making him the second former integrity committee head to be arrested on corruption allegations after the arrest of Ziad Al-Janabi last month.
Authorities also arrested MP Alia Nassif, who has served on the parliamentary integrity committee for nearly eight years, and seized large sums of cash found at her home, estimated at around 98 billion Iraqi dinars.
Late on Monday night, the State Administration Coalition, which includes the Iraqi political parties participating in the government of Ali Al-Zaidi, issued a statement following a meeting affirming its "full support for anti-corruption efforts".
The coalition also stressed the need for the campaign to continue in accordance with the law and free from any political or selective motives.
It further stressed the importance of continuing efforts to ensure that arms remain exclusively in the hands of the state , to strengthen the rule of law, and to reinforce the authority and sovereignty of Iraq's constitutional institutions.
Article translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari. To read the original, click here .