Iraq’s anti-corruption campaign nets $120m

LONDON: Iraqi authorities say they have seized more than $120 million in cash since the start of an anti-corruption campaign launched last month.

The latest operation, on Monday, was linked to the detained former undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil Adnan Al-Jumaili and led to the seizure of $1 million and 25 billion Iraqi dinars ($19.1 million) in cash and an estimated 5 kg of gold jewelry.

The Supreme Judicial Council and Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court said that the money was found in plastic water bottles hidden in Al-Jumaili’s house in Tikrit, northwest of Baghdad, the Iraqi News Agency reported.

The operation took the total amount of cash seized since the start of the campaign to about $121 million.

Authorities have also seized gold items and impounded real estate and vehicles worth millions of dollars from various locations inside Baghdad’s Green Zone, which is home to several high-ranking Iraqi officials and the US Embassy.

At least 47 officials, including members of parliament, have been arrested.

Fighting corruption and ensuring a government monopoly over weapons were two of the key pledges of Ali Al-Zaidi, who was sworn in as Iraq’s prime minister in May.