Kurdish Policy Analysis

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has said the government will continue its efforts to fight corruption in order to restore public funds. He stressed that he would not neglect his responsibility "to protect the interests of the Iraqi people.

"The situation has reached a stage where it can no longer be kept quiet," Zaidi said during a cabinet meeting.

During the meeting, the prime minister instructed monitoring agencies to take any clues and information relating to the performance of the government or the performance of ministries, with a view to uncovering cases of corruption or negligence.

Meanwhile, National Movement leader Muqtada al-Sadr praised the government's arrest raid as a "heroic" move that would give hope to Iraqis and strengthen efforts to fight corruption.

Sadr called for next Friday's sermon to be devoted to talking about corruption and the prayer to be held under the slogan: "Yes to Islam. "Islam has forbidden corruption and oppression, and it is a legitimate duty to declare freedom from them," he said.

This comes after Baghdad, on Sunday, saw a massive arrest raid involving a number of politicians and parliamentarians, based on corruption charges.

The official Iraqi news agency reported that 47 officials, including at least 12 parliamentarians and political figures, were arrested from Saturday night to Sunday morning.

The agency released a list of 15 of those arrested, including lawmakers whose immunity has been revoked, along with current and former officials.

The move, described by observers as "rare", comes as part of an anti-corruption campaign led by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Zaidi to crack down on those involved in the waste of state funds.

The arrests followed a confession by Deputy Oil Minister Adnan Jumaili, who was arrested in May on corruption charges, official media reported, stressing that the process was "continuing and developing.

Hours before the arrests began, the Green Zone in central Baghdad witnessed the closure and deployment of counter-terrorism forces.

A security source told the BBC that the operation covered several areas of Baghdad, including Yarmouk and Zayuna, and was not limited to the Green Zone.

Iraqi authorities reportedly seized about $11 million in cash, about 98 billion dinars (about $63 million), about 1.5 kilograms of gold, and about 40 houses and properties in Baghdad, Salahaddin and Erbil, in addition to large amounts of weapons and ammunition.

Mina Oreibi, a British-Iraqi analyst and fellow at the Yale World Fellows Program, believes these developments in Baghdad will have long-term political consequences.

According to the criteria, the raids and investigations are likely to include high-level state figures, according to media reports.

However, Oreibi believes the names currently being used among the detainees do not reflect Iraq's "big fish" or "main corrupt," so he says such a campaign is unlikely to end the country's "rooted corruption.

The researcher pointed out that former Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Sudani had conducted a similar campaign when he came to power in

Oureibi, on the other hand, predicts that the campaign will be about “settling old accounts” or an attempt by the new prime minister to consolidate his powers.

Since taking office in May, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has worked to establish expert committees of inquiry aimed at exposing networks accused of wasting public funds and smuggling billions of dollars.

A government official said the arrests began on Sunday on the direct instructions of Prime Minister Ali Zaydi.

Meanwhile, the Federal Prosecutor's Office, an independent body under the supervision of the House of Representatives, announced on Sunday the beginning of arrest warrants against a number of suspects in the seizure of public funds. 

The leader of the Sadr movement has sent a letter to the Iraqi prime minister in support of the government's measures aimed at prosecuting those involved in corruption cases, Shafaq News reported

Clarification from the Supreme Judicial Council

The investigating judge of the Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court has clarified that the investigations into the case of the accused (Adnan al-Jumaili / Agent of the Ministry of Oil for Liquidation Affairs) began in the tenth month of the year 2025, following the court's receipt of a series of reports indicating that a number of candidates had disbursed substantial financial sums to support their election campaigns, exploiting state resources with the backing of influential figures from the previous government. 

Given the importance and precision of this crime, efforts to gather evidence and information continued for several months. Following the arrest of the aforementioned accused, the course of the investigation revealed the involvement of a group of members of the Council of Representatives in exploiting state resources for election propaganda, and profiting from government contracts either directly or through intermediaries to obtain commissions and personal benefits for themselves and others. 

This necessitated conducting investigations with them and taking legal action against them. Based on the court's request and consultation with the Council of Representatives, immunity was lifted from the accused members of parliament by the current President of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, pursuant to the powers granted to him under the provisions of Articles (63/Second/J) and (7/Fourth) of the Iraqi Council of Representatives Law No. 13 of 2018, Article (11/Second/3) of the amended Iraqi Penal Code No. 111 of 1969, and Article (20/Third) of the Internal Regulations of the Iraqi Council of Representatives. 

Upon receipt of the documents lifting immunity, and in cooperation with the Federal Integrity Commission and law enforcement authorities, under the direct supervision of the Presidents of the Supreme Judicial Council and the Council of Ministers, proceedings began to execute the arrest warrants issued against them and detain them. Cash and criminal exhibits were seized that prove their commission of acts contrary to the law, while a portion of them remains at large. It should be noted that investigations in this case are ongoing in light of the evidence, and legal action will be taken against political figures and other individuals in the coming period, concurrent with the development of the investigation's proceedings.

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