A sign outside Iraq’s Federal Commission of Integrity headquarters in Baghdad, which continues to lead investigations into corruption and property fraud across the country.
Four government employees arrested in Nineveh on corruption, financial fraud charges
NINEVEH – Iraq’s Federal Integrity Commission said Wednesday that four employees from the Ministries of Oil, Finance, and Higher Education and Scientific Research were arrested in Nineveh on charges of deliberately causing financial losses to the state.
In a statement, the commission said a team from its Nineveh Investigation Directorate “moved to the Rabia government fuel station and arrested the station director for reopening the facility and selling petroleum products despite a closure order from the Ministry of Planning’s Quality Control Department.” The order had been issued due to meter tampering, the statement added, and the director had received no authorization to resume operations.
The commission said two employees from the Nineveh Retirement Directorate were also detained “for releasing pension payments to deceased retirees after their benefits had been suspended.” The pair allegedly issued “false life certificates in violation of regulations,” even though no valid files for the beneficiaries existed in the directorate’s records.
In a third case, investigators arrested a member of a committee overseeing a student housing project at the Northern Technical University for “manipulating financial receipts.” The commission said the suspect admitted to keeping part of the funds.
According to the statement, three official reports were submitted to the Nineveh Court of Investigation for Integrity Cases, which ordered the suspects’ detention under Articles 340 and 331 of the Iraqi Penal Code, covering crimes of corruption and dereliction of duty.