Former Salah al-Din governor sentenced in absentia over illicit enrichment

SALAH AL-DIN — Former Salah al-Din Gov. Ammar Jabr has been sentenced in absentia to seven years in prison for illicit enrichment and ordered to return 1.728 billion dinars, about $1.3 million, the Federal Commission of Integrity said Sunday.

The Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court also fined him the same sum, matching the value of the illicit gains identified in his assets, the commission said. Under the Integrity and Illicit Gains Law, he would not be released after serving the sentence, if arrested, until both the money and the fine were paid.

The court upheld the seizure of Jabr’s movable and immovable assets and those of his wife, and ordered a precautionary seizure of assets belonging to his son. Neither has been charged. It issued an arrest warrant and ordered searches to find him. His whereabouts were not immediately clear.

Jabr headed the Salah al-Din Investment Commission before becoming governor in 2018. Parliament voted to remove him in May 2022 over accusations of mismanagement and waste of public funds. He challenged the removal in court and the judiciary rejected his appeal the following month.

The conviction comes amid a wider campaign that has widened since the arrest of former Deputy Oil Minister Adnan al-Jumaili in May. Investigators seized $5.8 million in cash, 1.175 billion dinars and gold from homes belonging to the detained deputy electricity minister on Sunday, and the Supreme Judicial Council announced a further recovery in the Jumaili case of $20.34 million, 200 million dinars and 60 kilograms of gold. A court has also ordered the arrest of former Labor Minister Ahmed al-Asadi, and security forces arrested National Masses Party leader Ahmed al-Jubouri last week.