Court seizes $20M and 60kg of gold in Oil Ministry corruption case

Shafaq News- Baghdad

$20,340,000, 60 kilograms of gold and seven vehicles have been seized in coordination with Kurdistan Region authorities in the corruption case of detained Oil Ministry Undersecretary Adnan al-Jumaili, an investigating judge at Iraq's Central Combating Corruption Criminal Court announced Sunday.

Al-Jumaili's confessions during interrogation have triggered a widening judicial dragnet, leading to the arrest of additional officials and opening new files linked to government contracts. Total assets recovered across the case now exceed $100 million in cash, found hidden in water bottles, walls, and buried underground, alongside hundreds of kilograms of gold, dozens of properties, and vehicles.

Al-Jumaili was arrested on May 30 in the al-Ishaqi area of Saladin province on corruption charges related to financial waste at the Baiji Refinery, and was subsequently relieved of his position as Director General of the North Refineries Company on June 2. His case forms part of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's Dawn Crackdown (Sawlat al-Fajr), a nationwide anti-corruption campaign that has resulted in the detention of dozens of officials, lawmakers, and businessmen since its launch on June 28.

Read more: Corruption arrests in Iraq pass 210 under PM al-Zaidi