Iraqi authorities detain 31 in weekly corruption cases – Shafaq News

On Jul 27, 2026

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraqi authorities detained 31 officials, employees,
contractors, and other suspects across seven separate corruption cases between
July 20 and 26, according to a Shafaq News review. The detentions spanned three
provinces and seven government or public-administration areas, from provincial
administration and state banking to water resources and local government, and
coincided with newly announced seizures exceeding 41 billion Iraqi dinars
($31.3 million), $400,000, and 45 kilograms of gold.

The arrests were carried out largely under judicial warrants
and referrals involving the Federal Integrity Commission, an independent state
body mandated to investigate public-sector corruption, and the
Counter-Terrorism Service, with detentions recorded in Al-Diwaniyah, Saladin,
and Kirkuk.

Forgery Network and Provincial Office Record the Largest
Cases

The week’s largest single case reached Al-Diwaniyah, where
the Federal Integrity Commission announced the detention of 13 suspects after
dismantling “a dangerous forgery network” involving government employees,
lawyers, and others. The suspects included employees from the municipal,
civil-status, passport, and residency directorates.

Investigators documented 243 loan applications supported by
forged guarantees and submitted to 12 state banks in several provinces, 13 land
plots allocated to ineligible applicants from outside the province, more than
600 forged residence and civil-status records, and more than 1,000 forged
documents in total.

Forged papers were submitted to courts, the Martyrs
Foundation, the Pension Authority, the Article 140 Committee dealing with
claims arising from Iraq’s disputed-territories process, and the Social Welfare
Foundation, alongside fraudulent identities issued in the names of living and
deceased people and manipulated electronic visas using altered barcodes.

The properties and loans exposed to manipulation exceeded
four billion dinars ($3.05 million).

The second-largest case fell in Saladin, where eight
employees of the Saladin Provincial Office were arrested under judicial
warrants in a financial-corruption case. A provincial spokesperson said
warrants had been issued for 54 employees over administrative violations dating
back several years.

Al-Diwaniyah, Kirkuk, and Saladin

Four contractors were detained in Al-Diwaniyah by a joint
Counter-Terrorism Service and Federal Integrity Commission force after raids
tied to municipal funds allegedly disbursed contrary to regulations. Reports
referred to cash, gold, and luxury vehicles allegedly found during the
operations, though no quantities or values were officially confirmed.

In Kirkuk, authorities arrested the director of the
provincial Veterinary Department and the head of the veterinary section in
Shwan district under a judicial order over financial and administrative
corruption allegations, with the amounts undisclosed.

Two colonels in the Saladin Traffic Directorate were
arrested by the General Traffic Directorate over alleged embezzlement, forgery,
and manipulation of traffic-fine revenues. The alleged schemes were initially
linked to 1.8 billion dinars ($1.37 million) and more than 350 million dinars
($267,176), a combined total exceeding 2.15 billion dinars ($1.64 million).

Federal Integrity Commission investigators also caught a
department director in the Kirkuk Water Resources Directorate while allegedly
receiving money from a citizen. The operation followed a complaint accusing the
official of demanding payment to complete a transaction or provide
administrative facilitation.

In Saladin, a security force accompanied by the Federal
Integrity Commission arrested Provincial Council member Kamel Abbas Ashraf on
corruption charges. The underlying allegations and financial amounts were not
disclosed.

Kirkuk Checkpoint Officers

Kirkuk Operations Command reported that officers accused of
exploiting their positions to facilitate smuggling through the Darman and Jemen
checkpoints had been detained and referred for investigation, without stating
an exact number. Because no figure was published, those officers were excluded
from the weekly total.

The operation also produced the seizure of 163 vehicles
carrying smuggled goods without customs payment, though those seizures covered
45 days and do not represent a weekly figure.

Where the Week’s Cases Fell

Measured by case category, the cross-institutional forgery
network accounted for 13 of the 31 detentions, provincial administration for
eight, municipal administration and public contracting for four, agriculture
and veterinary services for two, and interior and traffic administration for
two. Water resources and the local legislature accounted for one detention
each.

By location, Al-Diwaniyah recorded 17 detentions, Saladin
11, and Kirkuk three.

Money Seized and Recovered

The reporting period produced substantial recoveries in the
continuing investigation into former Oil Ministry undersecretary Adnan
Al-Jumaili. The first judicial announcement covered 13 billion dinars ($9.92
million), $400,000, 40 gold bars weighing one kilogram each, and five kilograms
of gold jewelry, while a second, announced on July 26, covered 27 billion
dinars ($20.61 million) said to have been hidden with several people.

Combined, the newly reported Al-Jumaili recoveries reached
40 billion dinars ($30.53 million), $400,000, and 45 kilograms of gold. No new
arrest was reported in either update.

The judiciary separately announced the recovery of
1,143,847,719 dinars ($873,166) in a financial-fraud case, again without a new
arrest. Total newly reported seizures and recoveries for the period stood at
41,143,847,719 dinars ($31.41 million), $400,000, and 45 kilograms of gold.

Penalties, Audits, and the Next Phase

Several public-money cases advanced without new arrests. In
Dhi Qar, a Nasiriyah municipal official and his wife, also a municipal
employee, were each sentenced to five years in prison and fined 1.8 billion
dinars ($1.37 million) and $800,000, for combined penalties of 3.6 billion
dinars ($2.75 million) and $1.6 million.

In Diyala, a Provincial Office accounts official was
investigated over the premature release of a guarantee on a road-maintenance
and paving contract valued at 1.2616 billion dinars ($963,053), after
inspectors found cracks, subsidence, and serious damage months after
completion. The official was presented before an investigative judge but was
not confirmed detained.

Federal Board of Supreme Audit findings pointed to further
vulnerabilities. Defense Ministry scrap at the Al-Taji and Balad sites was sold
directly for 200,000 dinars ($153) per ton, while comparable scrap at the
Officers Club was sold through public auction for 630,000 dinars ($481) per
ton, a difference of 430,000 dinars ($328) per ton.

The findings also flagged food-ration supply contracts
awarded to a single private company, bonuses paid from performance-guarantee
deposits tied to the food-basket contract, and contracts awarded without proper
verification of letters of guarantee.

A parliamentary file alleging financial and administrative
corruption within Federal Board of Supreme Audit offices, including concealment
of corruption files and preferential treatment for relatives of influential
officials, was completed for referral to the Federal Integrity Commission and
Public Prosecution. No arrest had been announced in connection with the audit
findings by the end of July 26.

Over Two Weeks

Over the two weeks from July 12 to 26, Shafaq News
documented 58 confirmed detentions across the two reporting periods, spanning
six provinces and operational jurisdictions: Baghdad, Nineveh, Kirkuk,
Al-Diwaniyah, Diyala, and Saladin.

The first week recorded 27 detentions across defense and
military works, customs and border administration, oil, municipal
administration, health, finance and pensions, and the legislature, while the second week recorded 31 detentions across a
cross-institutional forgery network, provincial administration, municipal
contracting, agriculture and veterinary services, traffic administration, water
resources, and the Saladin Provincial Council.

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