Iraq
Former Kirkuk Governor Rakan al-Jabouri speaks to Rudaw in Kirkuk on September 14, 2021. Photo: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Rakan al-Jabouri, the former acting governor of Kirkuk, was released on bail Tuesday, a day after his arrest on suspicion of corruption.
A source from Kirkuk’s provincial administration told Rudaw that Jabouri was detained under “Article 340 of the Iraqi Penal Code, which allows for bail.” The source added, however, that the court “will continue investigating the charges against Jabouri, summoning his legal representative, and closely examining documents” relating to his case.
Article 340 pertains to government employees accused of causing damage to public property, carrying a potential prison sentence of up to seven years.
An informed source from the al-Rusafa Criminal Court in Baghdad told Rudaw on Monday, that “Jabouri currently has five [active] cases against him in Baghdad courts.”
Speaking to Rudaw on condition of anonymity, the same source stated that the investigating judge handling Jabouri’s case on Saturday reviewed two corruption cases against the ex-Kirkuk governor and subsequently “issued an arrest warrant for Rakan al-Jabouri.”
Rudaw also learned that Jabouri has three additional cases against him in Kirkuk, bringing the total number of lawsuits against him to eight. The five cases in Baghdad were transferred at the plaintiffs’ request, due to a lack of progress in the Kirkuk courts.
The same well-placed source on Monday informed Rudaw that two of the ongoing corruption investigations relate to construction projects, with each involving the disappearance of 500 million dinars (around $380,000). Another case concerns 21 properties registered under the names of Jabouri’s kin in a single Kirkuk neighborhood, which “raises suspicion of corruption,” the source added.
Jabouri was appointed acting governor of Kirkuk in 2017, after Iraqi federal forces took control of the city from Kurdish authorities. His tenure ended in August.
Around the same time, Dler Zidan, head of the Kirkuk Investment Authority told Rudaw that Jabouri had requested that a 235-Dunam housing project be granted to his brother, prompting a formal complaint.
Similarly, Kirkuk MP Dilan Ghafoor in June accused the former governor of gifting vehicles to the FIC’s office in Kirkuk.
Jabouri’s tenure as governor was marked by controversy. While some accused him of trying to revive Ba'ath-era Arabization policies to alter Kirkuk’s demographic makeup, others praised him for revitalizing neglected Arab neighborhoods.
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