Erbil, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's Federal Commission of Integrity on Tuesday announced Baghdad's agreement to ratify the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to bolster anti-corruption efforts and retrieve externally embezzled funds amid widespread corruption probes in the country.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Commission outlined the results of director Mohammed Ali Lamy’s meeting with head of OIC's Baghdad Office Mohammed Sameer to discuss "means to bolster cooperation between the Commission and the organization and the importance of increasing cooperation among Islamic countries" to fight and counter corruption.
The Commission confirmed that the Iraqi Council of Minister has ratified the pact, formalizing Iraq's membership. The corruption watchdog seeks to "exchange information on individuals charged with corruption currently outside of Iraq".
The COI’s statement comes in support of Iraq’s ongoing anti-corruption campaign launched by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Zaidi in June in coordination with the Commission and the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).
It joins the coalition of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, an inter-governmental organization consisting of 57 member states, the second largest after the United Nations, to combat anti-corruption efforts based on the November 2024 signing of the Makkah Al-Mukarramah Convention on the Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Cooperation agreement to facilitate the rapid exchange of information, joint investigations, and the recovery of illicit proceeds across OIC nations.
To date, the operation has resulted in the arrest of dozens of Iraqi politicians and lawmakers, former officials, and senior government employees, in addition to hundreds of millions of dollars in stolen assets and seized state properties illegally transferred into private ownership.
Investigations are ongoing, with Adnan al-Jumaili, former deputy minister of oil, emerging as the largest culprit. Investigative courts have stated that they will track down associated networks.
The latest seizure in mid-July from cases associated with him includes 25 billion Iraqi dinars ($19 million), $200,000 in cash, and four kilograms of gold coins, marking a total of 375 kilograms of gold, 27 billion Iraqi dinars (about $97 million), and $24 million in assets seized since operations were first launched.
Earlier on Monday, Iraq's ruling Shiite Coordination Framework met with Prime Minister Zaidi and endorsed the anti-corruption campaign, vowing to not provide political protection for parties found guilty of corruption regardless of their political affiliation.
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