Iraq's Federal Commission of Integrity headquarters. (Photo: Integrity Commission)
Iraqi integrity watchdog arrests Salah al-Din education official over textbook theft
SALAH AL-DIN — Iraq’s Federal Commission of Integrity said Wednesday it arrested a division director in the Salah al-Din Education Directorate on charges of stealing newly printed school textbooks and selling them.
The commission said its investigation team, acting under a judicial warrant, “caught the official red-handed, stealing and selling textbooks and receiving payments for them.”
Investigators received information that the official was removing books from the directorate’s warehouses and transferring them to his home. Surveillance confirmed the movements, and he was arrested while receiving the first installment of payment for 22 boxes of textbooks, each containing between 75 and 130 copies for various school grades.
Authorities prepared an official report and referred the suspect to the Salah al-Din Investigation Court specializing in integrity cases. The court ordered his detention under Article 444/11 of the Iraqi Penal Code, which provides up to seven years in prison or detention for theft of state-owned property.