FILES: Former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani casts his ballot at a polling station in Baghdad during Iraq’s 2025 parliamentary elections on November 11.
Sudani coalition figures among first named in corruption sweep
BAGHDAD — Several current and former members of the Reconstruction and Development Coalition, led by former Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani, are among the first 15 officials publicly identified in a sweeping anti-corruption operation launched by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s government.
Iraqi state media said the arrests were based on confessions by detained Deputy Oil Minister Adnan al-Jumaili, and that the 15 names were the first group in a wider investigation it said involved 47 detainees whose identities would be released later.
964media could not independently verify the list published by the Iraqi News Agency.
The names INA tied to Sudani’s coalition were current lawmakers Bahaa al-Nouri, Alia Nassif, Abdul Rahman al-Luwaizi and Bushra al-Qaisi, along with Hassan al-Khafaji, who recently announced his departure from the coalition. Former lawmaker Mohammed al-Sayhoud, also affiliated with the coalition, was named, as was Ibrahim al-Sumaidaie, an adviser to Sudani.
The names span Sunni and multiple rival Shia blocs, among them Muthanna al-Samarrai, head of the Sunni Azm Alliance and a member of parliament. Of those named, only al-Samarrai’s detention has been confirmed by independent news agencies.
Sudani served as prime minister from 2022 until 2026, when he was succeeded by Zaidi. His coalition emerged from the last election as the largest bloc in parliament.
Earlier Sunday, the Iraqi News Agency cited a senior source linking a sweeping pre-dawn security operation inside Baghdad’s Green Zone to the corruption investigation. The source said the arrests targeted suspects identified during Jumaili’s interrogation, including members of parliament whose immunity had been lifted and other senior officials named in his testimony.
The operation was the first official explanation for the large-scale deployment before dawn, when armored vehicles, tanks and Counter Terrorism Service units entered the Green Zone. Residents reported several minutes of gunfire, while ambulances were seen entering residential compounds housing senior officials.
Jumaili, who served as deputy oil minister for extraction affairs, was detained earlier this month over alleged financial irregularities in the oil sector. Authorities have disclosed few details about the investigation beyond confirming he was in custody, but state media has repeatedly linked Sunday’s arrests to confessions made during his interrogation.