Former MP from Sudani’s coalition jailed a year for illicit enrichment

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court on Sunday jailed former lawmaker Mohammed al-Sayhoud for one year for illicit enrichment, the Federal Commission of Integrity said.

The court ordered Sayhoud to return 2,267,295,000 dinars and $155,350 identified as illicit gains, about $1.6 million in total at the official rate, and to pay a fine of the same amount. The repayment and fine together come to more than 5 billion dinars (about $3.3 million), the commission said.

The commission, which gave his full name as Mohammed Saadoun Hatem Sayhoud al-Sudani, said the verdict was delivered in his presence under Article 19(2) of the Integrity Commission and Illicit Gains Law No. 30 of 2011, as amended. The fine was imposed under Article 19(4) of the same law.

The court also upheld the seizure of his movable and immovable assets and gave the commission the right to seek compensation for damages once the verdict is final.

Sayhoud, a member of former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s Reconstruction and Development Coalition, was among 15 people state media named on June 28, the day of pre-dawn raids in Baghdad’s Green Zone known as Dawn Strike. State media said 47 lawmakers and officials had been detained on the strength of confessions by former Deputy Oil Minister Adnan al-Jumaili, who was arrested in May. 964media could not verify the list or the total.

A security source told 964media at the time that Sayhoud had been released on bail for health reasons on June 30, two days after his arrest. A judicial source told 964media on Oct. 25 that his verdict would be announced on Nov. 8.

Other convictions since the raids have brought longer terms. On Oct. 29, a court jailed Azm Alliance leader Muthanna al-Samarrai for six years for profiting from public contracts at two state refining companies and ordered him to repay 30 billion dinars (about $20 million at the official rate).

In a separate session that day, lawmaker Ziad al-Janabi, head of the National Legislation Party, was sentenced to five years of rigorous detention and ordered to repay 4 billion dinars (about $2.6 million). Rigorous detention is the heavier of the two forms of jail term in Iraq’s Penal Code, from three months to five years.

Lawmakers Bahaa al-Nouri, Alia Nassif, Ashwaq Salim and Mohammed Farman al-Jubouri were each sentenced to seven years for illicit enrichment in September, as were former lawmaker Talal al-Zobaie and former Deputy Oil Minister Ali Maarij al-Bahadli in August. Their repayments and fines ranged from nearly 12 billion dinars (about $9 million at the time) for Salim to nearly 70 billion dinars (about $53 million at the time) for Zobaie.

Lawmaker Mohammed Nasser Dali al-Karbouli, also named in June, was jailed for two years in July for soliciting a $50,000 bribe.

The commission did not say whether Sayhoud would begin serving his sentence immediately or whether the ruling can be appealed.