Khaberni - The Iraqi judiciary announced on Tuesday the seizure of more than $85 million, a large part of which was found hidden inside houses and in holes in the ground, as part of a corruption case linked to the Deputy Minister of Oil.
Adnan Al-Jumaily, the Deputy Minister of Oil for Refinement Affairs, was arrested last month in Salah al-Din province in northern Iraq, a country plagued by poor general management, where often heads of governments, including the current one Ali Al-Zaidi, pledge to fight widespread corruption affecting all aspects of the state.
The Supreme Judicial Council stated in a statement that the investigations into "the waste in the implemented projects by the accused" and others, resulted “today (Tuesday) in the seizure of cash amountsing to more than 67 billion dinars and one million dollars”.
A part of this money was "hidden in the houses of several individuals" while "the other part was buried underground at a depth of four meters and was discovered after digging the ground with specialized machinery".
Thus, "the total amount of money seized in the case exceeds 98 billion dinars and 11 million dollars”, which in total amounts to over $85 million.
Based on "confessions made by Al-Jumaily during his interrogation", Raed Al-Jubouri, the director of the health department in Salah al-Din province, was arrested, according to the statement.
The legal proceedings in this case also included "the seizure and detention of 70 properties and 21 modern cars, in addition to gold jewelry estimated at about 3 kilograms", according to another statement by the Supreme Judicial Council.
Corruption sanctions in Iraq often target mid-level state officials or simple managers, and rarely target the top leaders and senior corrupt officials.
In November 2024, the Iraqi judiciary sentenced a businessman and former officials and government employees for their involvement in stealing $2.5 billion from tax trusts.
This case, known as the "heist of the century", is one of the largest thefts in the history of Iraq.
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