Iraqi PM refers senior officials to commission for corruption

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Tuesday referred a number of former ministers and senior officials to the nation's integrity commission, which investigates corruption.

Abadi’s decision came “against the background of corruption in the contracts of schools lagging in several provinces,” according to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s office on Tuesday morning.

The statement did not specify the names or number of individuals referred to the commission, nor any further details about the nature of any alleged crimes.

Graft and mismanagement in state institutions are some of the most significant challenges the country has faced since the fall of the former regime, 15 years ago.

Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest oil producer, ranks high on Transparency International’s Corruption Index, year after year. In 2017, it was assessed as 166 out of 176 on the corruption watchdog's Transparency Index for that year, labeling it one of the most corrupt nations worldwide.

Editing by John J. Catherine