Iraqi authorities have seized or frozen hundreds of millions of dollars in cash, real estate, gold and other assets as part of a sweeping anti-corruption investigation that government sources and people familiar with the inquiry say is expected to expand in the coming days.
The campaign, which began earlier this month, has led to the detention of dozens of government officials and advisers as well as current and former members of Iraq’s parliament, the sources told MBN.
Investigators are focusing on the alleged diversion of public funds into private assets, including real estate, vehicles and valuable personal property, as authorities seek to recover money they say was stolen from the state over the past several years.
People working on the investigation said both the value of seized assets and the number of detainees are likely to increase as investigators obtain new testimony that could implicate additional figures.
“The atmosphere is both encouraging and heartbreaking,” one Iraqi lawmaker told MBN. “Members of parliament and others keep asking whether there are accusations against them and whether they’ll be part of the next wave of arrests. They are living in constant fear.”
The Investigation
Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi is personally overseeing the anti-corruption campaign, sources said, while Integrity Court Judge Diaa Jaafar is leading the judicial investigation.
According to a source familiar with the proceedings, detainees arrested during a pre-dawn operation Sunday are being confronted with testimony given by former Deputy Oil Minister Adnan al-Jumaili when they appear before the investigating judge.
“Those confessions come as a shock to the suspects accused of corruption,” the source told MBN. “They are unable to deny any of the allegations.”
The sources said al-Jumaili has provided testimony implicating dozens of government officials and members of both the current and previous parliaments.
A parliamentary source familiar with al-Jumaili’s condition said he suffers from kidney failure and had been in poor health before his arrest.
How the Case Began
The investigation originated with the case against al-Jumaili.
A source familiar with his testimony told MBN that the former deputy minister had spent large sums of money on politicians, government officials, lawmakers and even media figures.
Authorities became suspicious, the source said, after observing the rapid growth of al-Jumaili’s personal wealth and what they described as his attempt to enter politics by seeking appointment as minister of planning.
Al-Jumaili allegedly sought to secure control of the Planning Ministry by offering roughly $250 million for the post, according to the source. Unverified reports have suggested that he also explored obtaining the Defense Ministry.
For years, Iraqi politicians have alleged that some cabinet positions have effectively been traded through political and business deals, with ministries and influential government posts allegedly awarded in exchange for large financial payments.
According to the sources, al-Jumaili attempted to enter that system through the Planning Ministry.
Testimony obtained by MBN from multiple people familiar with the investigation indicates that information about al-Jumaili’s activities eventually reached Iraq’s judiciary, triggering a lengthy evidence-gathering process.
The current anti-corruption campaign is being overseen jointly by the prime minister and Supreme Judicial Council President Faiq Zaidan, while Judge Diaa Jaafar is directing the investigation.
Sources said knowledge of the operation remained tightly restricted within the government and judiciary, with only a small number of senior officials aware of the details.
The operation remained confidential until the speaker of parliament, Haibat al-Halbousi, was informed during an official visit to Egypt that parliamentary immunity needed to be lifted from lawmakers under investigation to allow arrest warrants to be executed.
Once parliamentary immunity was removed, security forces moved forward with the arrests under a tightly coordinated operational plan.
Arrests and Seizures
Although authorities carried out most of the planned arrests, two lawmakers evaded capture: Hussein Moanes of the Huqooq bloc, affiliated with the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah movement, and Alaa Sakar of the Reconstruction and Development Coalition.
According to the sources, the two men left their mobile phones in separate locations before moving elsewhere, complicating efforts to track them.
The sources also said one female lawmaker created the appearance that her phone was outside Iraq while she remained inside the country. Another lawmaker attempting to flee to Turkey was arrested in the Kurdistan region before crossing the border.
As the investigation progressed, the volume of seized assets continued to grow, driven by new testimony that authorities are still verifying.
According to information obtained by MBN, investigators have seized more than 100 billion Iraqi dinars (about $75 million), in addition to more than $40 million in cash, gold bars and jewelry weighing dozens of kilograms. More than 100 properties, dozens of vehicles and hundreds of firearms have also been seized.
The total value of assets seized in the anti-corruption campaign has now exceeded $250 million, a judicial source told MBN.
According to the sources, al-Jumaili continues to provide investigators with daily testimony about what they describe as a broad network of politicians and other figures who allegedly benefited from money he distributed or who partnered with him in commercial and economic ventures, particularly those connected to Iraq’s oil sector.
Authorities are also continuing efforts to recover cash assets. During the first two days of the campaign, security forces established checkpoints throughout Baghdad’s Green Zone, searching vehicles for money that officials believed could be smuggled out of the heavily fortified district.
Adapted and translated from the original Arabic.
