Following previous arrests

Iraq’s integrity commission arrests six more suspects in Karbala electricity project case

KARBALA — Iraq’s Federal Integrity Commission announced Wednesday the arrest of six additional suspects in connection with the misappropriation of public funds tied to a state-funded electricity project in Karbala. The new arrests follow earlier detentions of individuals implicated in the case.

On Jan. 5, the Integrity Commission revealed that five employees from the Karbala Electricity Department — including two directors — had been arrested on charges of embezzling public funds from a privately contracted project. The project, part of a grid expansion plan, received substantial funding from the Ministry of Electricity and was assigned to a private contractor for execution.

According to the commission, employees from the Al-Furat maintenance unit and a private company conspired with a worker from the Electricity Department and the son of a previously arrested suspect to purchase stolen electrical materials from the project.

The suspects allegedly stored the stolen materials in a warehouse and later claimed they were unused surplus in an attempt to mislead the ministerial committee overseeing the project’s administrative investigation. During the operation, authorities seized trucks loaded with utility poles and large cable spools, arresting the department employee, the suspect’s son, and three truck drivers.

The commission added that the Karbala Investigative Court for Integrity Cases has issued an arrest warrant for the owner of the private company awarded the contract for the project, citing Article 319 of the Iraqi Penal Code.