Gold bars recovered as part of an investigation into detained Deputy Oil Minister for Refining Affairs Adnan Al-Jumaili are seen after being transferred to the Central Bank of Iraq in Baghdad on July 13, 2026. (Photo: the Supreme Judicial Council.)
Authorities recover 358 kilograms of gold in oil ministry corruption case
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court said Monday that authorities had recovered 358 kilograms of gold as part of the investigation into detained Deputy Oil Minister for Refining Affairs Adnan al-Jumaili, following a joint operation with authorities in the Kurdistan Region.
In a statement from the Supreme Judicial Council, the court said the operation was carried out in coordination with the Kurdistan Region and under the supervision of Supreme Judicial Council President Faiq Zaidan. The gold has been transferred to the Central Bank of Iraq.
Another 17 kilograms came from a separate operation, bringing the amount recovered in the operation to 375 kilograms. The court did not say whether other gold had been seized earlier in the case or specify the metal’s purity.
Shown in bars at the handover to the central bank, the gold would be worth roughly $49 million at current international prices if it is 24 karat.
The recovery comes after the Central Criminal Court for Combating Corruption seized an additional 14 billion dinars (about $10.6 million at the official rate) in the Jumaili case earlier this week, with investigators saying the cash was concealed inside a pit built for rainwater drainage. Earlier searches uncovered more than $121 million in cash that authorities said had been stored in plastic water bottles buried at Jumaili’s home in Tikrit.
The statement said the gold was handed to the director general of the Central Bank’s Issuance and Treasury Department and his deputy, as part of efforts to complete the investigation and “recover the movable and immovable assets obtained through this crime and hold those responsible accountable in accordance with the law.”
The Supreme Judicial Council did not say where the gold was recovered or whether it was found in one operation or at several sites.
Authorities say they have also seized more than 40 luxury properties registered in Jumaili’s name and in the names of people close to him, along with luxury vehicles and unlicensed weapons.
Jumaili served as deputy oil minister for refining affairs after previously leading the state-owned North Oil Company and North Refineries Company. He was dismissed in late May and arrested in Salah al-Din governorate on allegations of receiving large commissions and wasting public funds through oil refining contracts.
The June 28 operation, which authorities announced as the first phase of a wider campaign, led to the arrest of dozens of current and former officials. State media said the arrests stemmed from confessions by Jumaili, and that the more than 15 names released so far were the first of a group it put at 47. 964media could not independently verify the figures.
The gold recovery also follows the Supreme Judicial Council’s announcement Friday that it is working with Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to build a legal framework that would prioritize recovering misappropriated state funds while allowing reduced legal measures for corruption suspects who voluntarily return the money. The council said the plan is not a blanket amnesty but an arrangement under which suspects would return money and property in exchange for reduced penalties or release.