Iraqi MP Ashwaq Salem sentenced to seven years for corruption
Federal Integrity Commission orders repayment of 2.1 billion dinars and $3 million, imposes equivalent financial fine, and confirms seizure of all movable and immovable assets in a ruling that follows Wednesday's sentencing of MP Aliya Nassayif
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Iraq's Federal Integrity Commission announced that the Central Anti-Corruption Court has issued a seven-year prison sentence against Iraqi parliamentarian Ashwaq Salem, finding her guilty of corruption and ordering her to repay 2.1 billion Iraqi dinars and 3 million US dollars in illicitly obtained funds, alongside an equivalent financial fine and the seizure of all her movable and immovable assets.
The Federal Integrity Commission clarified that the parliamentarian is obligated to return 2.1 billion Iraqi dinars and 3 million US dollars representing the value of her illicit gains. In addition, a financial fine equivalent to the value of those same illicit gains has been imposed on her, doubling the financial penalty beyond the repayment obligation. The Central Anti-Corruption Court also confirmed the seizure of all of the parliamentarian's movable and immovable assets as part of the ruling.
The sentencing of Ashwaq Salem follows directly on Wednesday's conviction of fellow parliamentarian Aliya Nassayif Jassim, who received a seven-year sentence on September 23, 2026, alongside orders to repay more than 61 billion Iraqi dinars and the seizure of all her assets under the same Integrity Commission Law No. 30 of 2011. The two rulings in rapid succession signal that the Central Anti-Corruption Court is working through the cases that emerged from the June 28, 2026, sweeping security operation, in which Iraqi forces simultaneously moved across Baghdad, Salahuddin, Anbar, Nineveh, and other provinces to arrest parliamentarians and senior officials on corruption charges.
The June 28 operation uncovered staggering quantities of hidden wealth, including hundreds of billions of Iraqi dinars and tens of millions of US dollars in cash found buried underground and concealed inside gardens, alongside dozens of villas, luxury vehicles, and significant quantities of gold. Dozens of officials and parliamentarians were found to have connections to the corruption network, and the court rulings against Nassayif and Salem represent the first major individual sentencing outcomes to emerge publicly from that broader operation.
The consecutive convictions of two sitting Iraqi parliamentarians within days of each other represent the most significant accountability moment for Iraq's legislature in recent years, and arrive as Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi pursues a parallel governance reform agenda that has linked the future of the US-Iraq financial relationship to measurable progress on corruption and militia disarmament.