ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An Iraqi anti-corruption court on Wednesday sentenced former prominent member of parliament Alia Nassif to two years in prison for unlawfully profiting from public office, marking her second corruption conviction in less than two months.
The Iraqi Federal Commission of Integrity (FCoI) announced "a new ruling sentencing the convicts, former member of parliament Alia Nassif Jassim and former Director General of the Saladin Health Directorate Raed al-Jubouri, to rigorous imprisonment in a case regarding their unlawful benefit from public office through mediation.”
The committee also added that the two are obligated “to jointly and severally repay the benefit amount totaling 10,000,000,000 (ten billion) dinars [$6.6 million].”
The ruling comes months after Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and the Federal Commission of Integrity (FCoI) launched Operation Dawn in late June. The ongoing nationwide anti-corruption campaign has resulted in dozens of targeted raids and the arrest of hundreds of government officials and employees.
Wednesday's verdict follows an earlier ruling in late September, when Nassif was sentenced to seven years in prison for "illicit enrichment." The ruling obliged her to return over $46 million at the time.
A longtime Iraqi lawmaker who has served in parliament since 2010, Nassif has been a prominent voice on corruption and public spending issues prior to her arrest during the anti-corruption campaign.
In the latest ruling, the FCoI indicated that the Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court handed down an in-person verdict of two years of rigorous imprisonment against Nassif and five years of rigorous imprisonment against Jubouri.
The sentences were issued for profiting from works, contracts, and procurements carried out at the North Refineries Company (NRC), with the commission noting their interference in awarding and disbursing contract funds to affiliated companies and individuals for personal gain.
The FCoI added that after reviewing the evidence collected in the case, the court found it sufficient and convincing to convict them in accordance with the provisions of Article 319 of the Penal Code.
In late October, prominent Sunni politician Muthanna al-Samarrai and lawmaker Ziyad al-Janabi were also convicted under the same law, which addresses the utilization of public office for unlawful gains and carries prison sentences of up to 10 years.
Both Samarrai and Janabi were arrested in relation to the case of Adnan Jumaili, the former Iraqi deputy minister for refining affairs and general director of the NRC.
Jumaili was detained in late May on charges of embezzling around $131 million, sparking an investigation across state institutions that led to the seizure of millions of dollars, gold, vehicles, and real estate titles.
"The value of the funds, assets, or real estate recovered within the framework of the anti-corruption campaign is estimated at over 1.36 trillion dinars (over 1 billion dollars)," government spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi told state media in late August.
Iraq ranked 136th out of 182 countries and territories in Transparency International's 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, earning a score of 28 out of 100.
