Iraq’s Integrity Commission refers Vice-Presidents to court over corruption; judiciary denies

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Commission of Integrity has filed a lawsuit against the three deputies of the Iraqi President over corruption charges, while the Supreme Court denies the allegations.

Speaking to the state-owned al-Sabah newspaper on Sunday, Head of the Commission of Integrity Hassan al-Yassri said the President’s three deputies had been referred to the court for “illegitimate earnings.”

The President has three deputies, Nouri al-Maliki, Head of the State Law bloc and ruling Islamic Dawa Party, Ayad al-Allawi, head of the al-Iraqiya bloc, and Osama al-Nujaifi, Head of the al-Mutahidoon bloc.

Yassri said the commission had lifted the red-line on the high-ranked officials over corruption charges. In particular, their illegitimate earnings, stating that two trillion IQD was recovered as part of the anti-corruption efforts during 2017.

In an official statement, the Iraqi Supreme Court responded to the remarks made by the Head of Commission and denied receiving any lawsuits against the president’s deputies over corruption allegations.

“We deny receiving any lawsuit against the deputies as mentioned in Sunday’s edition of the al-Sabah newspaper,” Abdulsatar Biraqdar, the spokesperson of the Supreme Court, said.

He also called on the media and political and administrative figures “to avoid inaccurate statements that abuse other people as it is considered a crime punishable by the law,” warning against using the court’s name for “illegitimate goals.”

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany