Iraq's Government Requests Interpol to Arrest Former Officials Accused of Corruption

The Iraqi government intends to request the International Criminal Police Organization, known as Interpol, to issue alerts for the arrest of several former senior officials in Iraq. According to Reuters, these officials, including a former finance minister and a former intelligence chief, are believed to have embezzled over $2.5 billion from the country's tax commission. Iraqi officials stated that the suspects made illegal withdrawals from a bank account belonging to the commission between 2021 and 2022. Judge Haidar Hanoun, head of Iraq's Integrity Commission, said on Sunday that Iraqi judicial authorities are also seeking alerts regarding the personal secretary and a political advisor of Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the former prime minister. Al-Kadhimi and Ali Allawi, the former finance minister, have denied any involvement in corruption. Current Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani stated that one of his priorities is to combat the increasing corruption that has engulfed the Iraqi government. Judge Hanoun emphasized that the government is working to extradite the offenders from several countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. He also called on the United States and the United Kingdom to hand over the fugitive suspects. According to Judge Hanoun, 48 individuals are suspected of participating in corruption.