Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi has said a wave of arrests targeting legislators, politicians and officials on corruption charges is only the beginning and pledged to graft “night and day” to recover public funds.
Security forces carried out a series of arrests inside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone and outside the capital during the night from Saturday into Sunday, detaining dozens of current and former officials.
As of Sunday afternoon, Iraqi authorities had arrested 47 legislators and officials on corruption charges, the Iraqi News Agency reported, citing a senior government official. It published the names of 15 politicians detained based on information provided by former deputy oil minister Adnan Al Jumaili, who was taken into custody last month.
“This is the first phase. The issue of corruption has not ended yet. We are continuing to fight it,” Mr Al Zaidi said during a cabinet meeting late on Sunday, with the remarks broadcast at dawn Monday.
The crackdown has been accompanied by unverified videos shared widely on social media purporting to show stacks of cash seized from the home of Iraqi MP Alia Nassif following her arrest. Posts circulating online say the money amounted to more than 20 billion Iraqi dinars ($15.5 million), although those claims have not been independently verified.
“Public money must return to the people,” Mr Al Zaidi, who took office in May, said, framing the campaign as a direct response to public demand for accountability.
The Prime Minister has ordered the Finance Ministry to dedicate a bank account in which all the seized money can be deposited, government spokesman Haider Al Aboudi told a press conference on Monday. He did not give a total for the funds seized.
Pledge for 'new Iraq'
“Anyone who has public money, we want him to return the money to its owners. The people’s money returns to the people,” the Iraqi Prime Minister said.
“I am entrusted by the citizen who wants a glimmer of hope in his country. Today I am responsible for the people, for their blood and their interests, and I cannot remain silent about any mistake and I will not compromise on the interests of the Iraqi people.”
Mr Al Zaidi struck a defiant tone towards officials accused of embezzlement. “Whoever works for the state and steals the money of orphans and the poor is wrong. I tell him: do not stay. I will chase him night and day,” he said.
The Prime Minister also sought to reassure Iraqis amid the arrests. “The situation we are seeing cannot be tolerated. In this government, no corrupt person has immunity,” he said.
“I reassure our people, God willing, you have good guards. Rest assured about your money. Your money, God willing, is a trust on our necks, and your blood is a trust on our necks, and we will follow up.”
Mr Al Zaidi linked the crackdown to broader governance goals, saying the administration intends to mark a break with past practices.
“This government will be a distinguished government, God willing,” he said. “Today Iraq will start a new page, a new Iraq.”
Mr Al Aboudi said the current crackdown was “different from previous ones” carried out by past governments and that it would “not end at this stage, but will continue as well as the investigations”.
“This will bolster the image of the Iraqi state and strengthen its sovereignty indicators in the eyes of the international public opinion,” the spokesman added.
He said a number of suspects had been arrested in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in co-operation with local authorities, while several others were still at large. He did not elaborate.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s Federal Integrity Commission on Monday announced a prison sentence for the former director general of the General Commission for Taxes and his wife in a money-laundering case.
The Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court sentenced Osama Hussam Joudat to 10 years in prison, while his wife was given five years and one month.
The court also ordered the couple to pay a joint fine of more than 32.49 billion Iraqi dinars ($24.5 million), while their assets in Iraq and abroad were seized. These include 10 properties in Baghdad and 12 in Turkey registered in Ms Joudat’s name, as well as rental income from those properties and gold jewellery.
The court also ordered the seizure of cash found during the investigation, and funds deposited in Kuwaiti and Turkish banks linked to the convicted woman.
Iraq ranked 136th out of 181 countries on Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, with oil sector contracts a frequent target of graft investigations. Corruption has been rife under successive governments elected after the US-led invasion of 2003, which toppled Saddam Hussein. Billions of dollars given to the government for reconstruction were misused by authorities.
