Judge Ahmed Anwar, head of the integrity commission, also revealed another 375 corruption cases in the Kurdistan Region remain under investigation by courts and the Commission.
Of this number, 178 cases are being investigated by an examining judge and the remaining 197 are being investigated by the Commission before they may be filed in court.
Judge Anwar urged “grassroots reforms in 2018” in the Kurdistan Region, saying the reform process has proceeded slowly over the past two years.
Qubad Talabani, KRG deputy prime minister, said after meeting with the Integrity Commission that the government would continue to fight corruption and "collectively" assist the Commission.
“The Commission of Integrity has been the spearhead to resolve, end, or reduce corruption phenomena,” Talabani said.
Talabani criticized past mechanism of forming committees to launch probes into corruption, saying those who were chosen to head the committees were themselves "corrupts.”
He claimed there are "pharaohs" in the Kurdistan Region "confiscating lands, building villas, doing business, smuggling, killing people, and journalists."
Talabani said the KRG has failed so far to stand against corrupt individuals who "appear on television on a daily basis" talking about "fighting corruption."
“I did apologize to Judge Ahmed in which we, as the government, have not been able to support this agency in order to bravely face the pharaohs," Talabani said.
He urged the government, parliament, and political parties to help the KRG Integrity Commission in their investigations.
The deputy prime minister strongly criticized some Peshmerga officials and accused them of being involved in corruption.
The Kurdistan Region has been suffering financially since mid-2014, following an economic crisis induced by low oil prices, disputes with Baghdad, an influx of IDPs, and war with ISIS, putting a renewed focus on corruption in the Region.
In part of fundamental reforms, the KRG launched a biometric system in October 2016 revealing “large scale misuse and fraud.”
The system also is expected to reduce the number of ghost workers who do not actually work but are paid by the KRG through the falsification of personnel or payroll records.
In parts of his speech the Judge Anwar said they conveyed their concerns to the parliament regarding collective pardons, believing it would undermine the rule of law.
He also said they are currently auditing 970 university instructors who claim to hold PhDs.
Former President of the Kurdistan Region, Masoud Barzani, introduced fundamental reforms in early 2016 with the goal of helping to overcome the Region’s economic crisis.
Under the corruption probe, a number of KRG officials have been arrested.
