Iraq's anti-corruption body announced on Sunday that the deputy oil minister for distribution affairs, Ali Al Bahadli, and a former MP, Talal Al Zubaie, had been sentenced to seven years in prison and issued multimillion-dollar fines in separate cases.
They are among dozens of officials detained in June during raids in areas including Baghdad’s Green Zone as part of a crackdown on corruption launched by Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi.
An anti-corruption court sentenced Al Bahadli to seven years in jail for “illicit gains” and ruled that he should return more than $20 million in ill-gotten gains to the state, in addition to paying a fine of the same amount, Iraq's Commission of Integrity said.
Al Zubaie was also sentenced to seven years in prison after being found guilty of "illicit gains and money laundering" amounting to about 35 billion Iraq dinars ($26.7 million). He was ordered to repay the funds, as well as paying the same amount as a fine.
Investigators seized $11 million and four billion Iraqi dinars in cash from Al Bahadli's home on June 29, Iraq's Supreme Judiciary Council said. Images released by the council showed investigators using a drill hammer to break through a wall in a swimming pool building.
It revealed suitcases filled with tight bundles of dollars and dinars, as well as retail boxes, including one for Rolex with a gold wristwatch inside.
The presiding judge of the Central Criminal Court for Corruption said the cash was discovered during “initial investigations” of the detained minister.
The US imposed sanctions on Al Bahadli in May, accusing him of fraudulently mixing Iraqi and Iranian oil as part of a scheme to help Tehran avoid sanctions. Iraq’s Oil Ministry denied the accusations.
The US Treasury had previously described his role as enabling “significant corruption” in Iraq’s energy sector.
While Iraqis widely blame rampant corruption for the lack of services and development in the country despite its oil wealth, convictions of high-ranking public figures are rare.
Iraqi authorities have made dozens of arrests and seized millions of dollars in cash, along with gold and other valuables, in investigations connected to Adnan Al Jumaili, another Oil Ministry official detained at the start of Mr Al Zaidi's anti-corruption campaign. Judicial authorities said this month that they seized $20.3 million in cash, 60kg of gold and seven vehicles linked to Mr Al Jumaili, who served as deputy oil minister for refining affairs.
