ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on Friday moved to defend its handling of the $2.5 billion "heist of the century" case, saying convicted businessman Noor Zuhair could see his 10-year sentence waived if he repays what he still owes.
The remarks notably coincide with a massive anti-corruption crackdown, much of which the Council said aims at recovering squandered public funds.
The heist
The “heist of the century” is a massive corruption scandal centered on the fraudulent withdrawal of tax-guarantee funds between September 2021 and August 2022, when Iraq's state-owned Rafidain Bank paid out the money via 247 cheques to five shell companies, two of which - al-Qanat and al-Mubdi'oun - were owned by Zuhair. The case was first exposed in October 2022.
Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) clarified on Friday that it had previously “reached an agreement” with then-prime minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani (2022 - 2026) to release Zuhair on bail, on condition that “he return the withdrawn funds in installments in exchange for a reduced sentence.”
While the defendant returned 365 billion Iraqi dinars (about $279 million) of the 1.6 trillion dinars (about $1.24 billion) owed by his two companies, Zuhair "traveled outside Iraq, and the repayment process stopped," the SJC said, prompting the judiciary to "issue an in-absentia ruling sentencing him to ten years in prison" in November 2024, along with preparing an extradition file to return him to Iraq.
In January 2025, the Iraqi parliament passed a controversial amendment to the General Amnesty Law amid heavy political bargaining. The bill aimed at resolving the cases of thousands of prisoners who were unfairly detained, but drew criticism from opponents, who said it created a loophole allowing perpetrators of serious crimes to evade justice.
According to the SJC, Zuhair’s lawyer had requested that his client be covered by the amnesty law “in exchange for completing the repayment of the remaining amount he owes” - a request that has yet to be approved by Baghdad’s finance ministry.
The Council further noted that a dozen tax authority employees convicted for helping Zuhair withdraw the funds are serving prison sentences but could still qualify for amnesty "after paying the compensation amount.” The then-director of the prime minister's office and several advisers received in-absentia sentences and remain abroad pending extradition, with the same amnesty option available to them.
The SJC added that an investigation into then-prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi (2020 - 2022), in office during the scheme, was closed "for lack of sufficient evidence," while assets belonging to several convicted individuals now in prison have been confiscated in both Iraq and Kuwait.
The timing
The Supreme Judicial Council's (SJC) clarification on Friday comes as Iraq's sweeping anti-corruption crackdown, launched by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in late June under the name "Operation Dawn," remains ongoing.
The campaign, carried out in coordination with the Federal Commission of Integrity, has so far led to dozens of arrests - including sitting lawmakers, former ministers and businessmen - and netted tens of millions of dollars, including over $131 million in cash seized as part of the related investigation into former deputy oil minister Adnan al-Jumaili alone.
The Council said Friday that in the case of Jumaili and several members of lawmakers, "the same procedures outlined above will be followed if any of their crimes were committed before the effective date of the amnesty amendment law, provided the amounts owed are repaid to the aggrieved ministry."
"However, if the crime was committed after the amnesty law took effect, the defendants will be dealt with under different procedures and mechanisms, as their crime would not be covered by the amnesty law," the statement explained.
Accordingly, the SJC's remarks appear geared toward rebutting criticism that Iraq's judiciary is going soft on corruption, using the Jumaili and Zuhair’s cases to explain an approach it said pursues "two interlinked goals: first, holding those who commit financial and administrative corruption crimes accountable, and second, recovering state funds."
Notably, the clarification comes a day after Prime Minister Zaidi reiterated his commitment to advancing Operation Dawn, vowing to pursue corruption cases "without selectivity" or on a "sectarian, ethnic, or other" discriminatory basis.
In remarks relayed by the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA), the premier insisted that there would be "no red lines" hindering the anti-corruption crackdown.
