Iraq's ruling Coordination Framework has stopped short of giving Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi a free hand to pursue armed faction figures implicated in corruption, despite an expanding nationwide anti-corruption campaign that has led to dozens of arrests and the seizure of large sums of cash and assets.
The campaign, which began before dawn on Sunday, 28 June, and continued overnight into Tuesday across Nineveh, Salah al-Din and Basra provinces, has targeted suspects accused of corruption and embezzlement of public funds. Iraqi security sources told The New Arab that directors general at the electricity, oil and municipalities ministries, along with politicians, have been arrested .
However, the ruling Coordination Framework coalition, which met late on Monday night in the presence of Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi, did not grant Al-Zaidi unrestricted authority to extend the campaign to figures and entities linked to armed factions.
Calls are growing in Iraq for Al-Zaidi's anti-corruption campaign not to be limited to politicians, members of parliament, and officials who are not affiliated with influential Iraqi factions that maintain economic offices and commercial fronts operating across the country.
According to three sources, two Coordination Framework lawmakers and one source close to Al-Zaidi's government, who spoke to TNA , the Iraqi prime minister informed Coordination Framework leaders of his intention to continue the current campaign in coordination with Supreme Judicial Council President Faeq Zaidan.
Al-Zaidi, who is due to visit the White House in mid-July, is relying on US pressure linked to money laundering and terrorism financing, as well as Washington's accusations that Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah have benefited from Iraq's financial and economic system through decentralised networks operating across Iraq under various commercial fronts. Fears of security tensions One source told TNA that several Coordination Framework leaders fear security tensions if the campaign reaches senior figures within armed factions.
They also asked Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi to proceed in accordance with a mechanism to prevent any security instability.
The same source said three faction-linked figures have so far been named in investigations into corruption at the oil and electricity ministries, alongside accusations that former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani failed to curb corruption, allowing it to reach its current levels.
Another source pointed to political efforts targeting Al-Zaidi's government and the judiciary, led by several parties seeking settlements under which the state would recover money obtained through corruption in exchange for reduced sentences or even release.
The source said those efforts remain at an early stage and are unlikely to succeed given the experience of the 2022 tax trust theft scandal, known as the "Heist of the Century", involving 3.7 trillion Iraqi dinars (about $2.5 billion).
The case dates back to the government of former Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi. The state recovered only a small portion of the stolen funds, while those implicated managed to leave Iraq after being released on bail.
A source close to the Iraqi government told The New Arab that Al-Zaidi's campaign will also suspend projects and freeze dealings with private-sector companies and entities linked to several armed factions, in line with US conditions.
The source revealed that construction companies involved in roads, bridges, restaurants, hotels, retail trade and residential developments have been accused by Washington of serving as commercial fronts or funding sources for factions previously designated as terrorist organisations, including Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat Hezbollah Al-Nujaba and Asaib Ahl Al-Haq.
The government, ministries and official institutions will cease dealing with those companies.
The source said Al-Zaidi may adopt this approach instead of entering into confrontation with armed factions if he decides to launch arrests similar to those carried out in recent days. Support for Ali Al-Zaidi's measures Meanwhile, the current anti-corruption campaign has received political backing inside Iraq .
In a statement issued after its meeting late on Monday night, attended by Al-Zaidi, the Coordination Framework reaffirmed its "support for efforts to combat corruption and Operation Dawn Strike", the name given to the operation launched before dawn on Sunday.
It said participants confirmed their "support and endorsement of the government and judicial steps to restore confidence in the political process", stressing "the need to sustain those efforts, purge state institutions of corrupt and negligent officials, and stop the waste of public funds".
Muqtada Al-Sadr, leader of the National Shia Movement (formerly the Sadrist Movement), was among the first to welcome and support the campaign.
The National Political Council, representing Sunni political forces, also announced in a statement on Monday evening that it had held a meeting at the Baghdad headquarters of Sovereignty Alliance leader Khamis Al-Khanjar, attended by Parliament Speaker Haibat Al-Halbousi, leaders of the parties and alliances that make up the council, and several other political leaders.
The council praised the recent measures taken in Baghdad and several provinces by Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi in cooperation with the legislative and judicial authorities to pursue suspects implicated in corruption cases and recover state funds.
It stressed that "combating corruption is a national priority that cannot tolerate selectivity or politicisation", adding that success requires "the fair and impartial application of the law to all those involved, without exception or discrimination". Millions of dollars and property In the latest arrests, the Supreme Judicial Council announced on Monday evening, 29 June, that investigators found $11 million and four billion Iraqi dinars (about $3 million) hidden in the swimming pool of Oil Ministry Undersecretary Ali Al-Bahadli, who was arrested before dawn on Sunday.
The council said Al-Bahadli admitted the money had been concealed in the pool at his home. Authorities also located and seized properties, although their locations were not disclosed.
Separately, the National Security Service announced the seizure of $4 million hidden inside an empty water bucket in a pickup truck attempting to leave Salah Al-Din province for Diyala province in northeastern Iraq. The driver was arrested.
The attempted transfer coincided with raids on the homes of relatives of officials and politicians in Al-Shirqat and Balad in Salah Al-Din province.
According to information obtained by TNA , about 53 people have been arrested so far as part of the campaign.
The arrests are based on confessions by Adnan Al-Jumaili, Oil Ministry undersecretary and director general of the North and Baiji refineries, who was arrested in May pending an investigation (the Oil Ministry has four undersecretaries).
Successive statements issued by the judiciary and the Iraqi government estimate that assets worth about 200 billion Iraqi dinars (about $152.5 million) have so far been seized during the raids.
Hundreds of properties and bank accounts inside and outside Iraq registered in the names of those implicated in corruption crimes, their wives, and their children have also been frozen.
An Iraqi security official with the Joint Operations Command, which oversees the campaign, told The New Arab that the amount of cash seized has exceeded 200 billion Iraqi dinars, in addition to large quantities of gold, jewellery, watches and more than 300 luxury vehicles of various types.
The official said authorities have also seized more than 400 residential and commercial properties, along with bank accounts.
The official added that Iraq is coordinating with the UAE, Jordan, Turkey, Iran and Lebanon, as those countries were the most frequently mentioned by detained officials as destinations for funds looted from the state budget.
The same official said the discovery of large sums of cash in the homes of officials, politicians and their relatives illustrates the extent of corruption and weak oversight under the previous government of Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani.
The official added that money was found "inside a clay oven, a swimming pool, air-conditioning vents, farms, and even hidden inside beds and wooden cabinets", and he predicted that the campaign to recover assets will continue longer than expected.
On Monday, government legal adviser Judge Munir Haddad said authorities had confiscated 98 billion Iraqi dinars ($74.7 million) and large quantities of gold from the home of detained lawmaker Alia Nassif, whose residence was raided before dawn on Sunday.
Lawmaker Hussein Arab said in television remarks on Monday evening that corruption in Iraq "has become institutionalised and now poses an existential threat to the Iraqi state".
He revealed that arrest warrants have been issued for two former ministers in Al-Sudani's government.
"The cash hoarded inside homes belongs to directors general, ministry undersecretaries and members of parliament," he said, adding that "$150 million was transferred abroad from inside Iraq in a single operation, constituting a major crime."
Arab also said, "Some people hide money on rooftops, inside sewers and in specially prepared barrels," adding that parliamentary immunity has been lifted for several suspects and arrest warrants issued for two former ministers in Al-Sudani's government."
"The investigations also cover oil marketing, oil purchases, oil smuggling and currency counterfeiting," he said. "The Iraqi judiciary is moving to break immunity protections to pursue members of parliament, former ministers, undersecretaries and directors general accused of brokering and legitimising corruption".
Iraqi lawmaker Shakhawan Abdullah said in a televised interview on Monday evening that parliamentary immunity has so far been lifted from 10 lawmakers and that others are also implicated in corruption.
He noted that corruption in Kirkuk province cost it 200 billion Iraqi dinars in a single year.
He also revealed the arrest of nine people in Erbil, including members of parliament, directors general and employees, who will be transferred to Baghdad . A difficult test Iraqi political affairs expert Mujahid Al-Taie told TNA that Iraq's ruling political class is "facing a difficult test between preserving the continuity of the political system and sacrificing some of its own components".
"US pressure over corruption, together with the current financial crisis facing Iraq because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the inability to export oil, is pushing the current government to continue the campaign even if it is incomplete or selective," he said.
He cited "the sacrifice of forces whose targeting would not trigger major repercussions, such as the Azm Alliance led by Muthanna Al-Samarrai and the Reconstruction and Development Alliance led by former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani".
Al-Taie predicted that other political forces and figures would seek voluntary settlements until the crisis passes, avoiding arrest or investigation.
"Armed groups have different calculations within the Iraqi political, security and judicial landscape, primarily linked to US pressure," he opined.
"If the political system is at risk, all forces will agree to target one armed faction or militia to minimise the damage. All options remain possible, but settlements are more likely than confrontation among partners in power," he added. Article translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari. To read the original, click here .