Iraq anti-graft agency arrests Doura municipality employees over bribery

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Federal Commission of Integrity said Tuesday it arrested two employees of the Doura Municipality after catching them in the act of receiving a bribe, following a sting operation inside the department.

In a statement, the commission said a task force from the Baghdad Investigation Directorate’s surveillance and arrest unit “was able, after monitoring, follow-up and setting up a tight ambush inside the department, to arrest two suspects at the Doura Municipality while they were receiving a sum of 10 million Iraqi dinars (about $6,410) as a bribe from a citizen.”

The commission said the suspects had extorted the citizen and demanded money in exchange for completing procedures related to his property transaction. It added that one of the suspects “is the head of one of the directorate’s sections.”

According to the statement, the operation was carried out under a judicial warrant issued by the Rusafa Investigation Court specialized in integrity, money laundering and economic crime cases. The court ordered the suspects detained “in accordance with the provisions of Decision No. 160 of 1983, as amended.”

In January 2026, Iraq’s Federal Commission of Integrity announced the arrest of a notary public employee in Dhi Qar governorate after he was caught receiving a bribe of 2.8 million Iraqi dinars (about $1,795) as part of a larger alleged 20 million dinar agreement (about $12,820) to process official documents. A second suspect was also detained in the same case. The arrest followed a monitored sting operation carried out under a judicial warrant.

Several similar cases were reported in 2025. In November, a criminal court sentenced a Nasiriyah municipality employee to six years in prison for soliciting bribes in exchange for completing property allocation procedures. Earlier, in July, an engineer working for the Karbala Directorate of Roads and Bridges was arrested after demanding 12.5 million dinars (about $8,013) to facilitate project approvals. In August, the Integrity Commission said it detained five public sector employees in Nineveh governorate on charges including bribery, embezzlement and abuse of office.

Anti-corruption operations were also frequent in 2024. In July, authorities arrested eight suspects in Baghdad, including six municipal employees caught taking bribes and two others accused of fraud and unauthorized business activities. In March, two suspects were detained in Dhi Qar over bribery and financial manipulation, while in February, six individuals were arrested in Nineveh in coordinated operations targeting corruption at a bank branch, a real estate registry and a civil status directorate.