Iraq’s PM Zaidi orders audits of governorate projects and payouts for whistleblowers

BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered the Federal Commission of Integrity to audit projects run by governorates with the same scrutiny it applies to ministries, and to activate financial rewards for people who report corruption.

Projects should be sorted into three tiers by size and cost, starting with high-value contracts, Zaidi said during a visit to the commission. He also called for tighter monitoring of border crossings, regular public disclosure of progress, and monthly and quarterly reports. “The battle against corruption is a major one,” he said, describing the commission as the state’s first line of defence and calling for its work to extend beyond investigation into prevention.

The commission’s chairman said field teams have finished auditing contracts at eight ministries and are working through the remaining institutions, and that a national integrity strategy running to 2030 is complete.

Zaidi said on Thursday that corruption often begins with inflated estimates for public projects, and that the government wants audits both before and after contracts are awarded.

The campaign has widened since he took office in May, from financial disclosures for senior officials to the June 28 “Dawn Strike” raids inside the Green Zone, which grew out of the investigation into former Deputy Oil Minister Adnan al-Jumaili. Sources told 964media this month that authorities were examining an initial list of about 6,000 people — contractors, businesspeople, real estate dealers and tribal figures — over unexplained wealth, land transactions and troubled state projects, with potentially recoverable assets estimated at close to $5 billion. Zaidi and Supreme Judicial Council President Faiq Zaidan have discussed a framework prioritising the return of misappropriated money, which authorities say would not be a blanket amnesty.