The Guardian: Al-Zaydi's anti-corruption campaign shakes the party empires in Iraq
The British newspaper The Guardian highlighted the campaign led by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falih Al-Zaydi to prosecute corruption cases, questioning whether the arrests and confiscation of money and properties will be successful in dismantling the corruption networks linked to political parties and rebuilding state institutions.
The newspaper stated in a report published today, Sunday, that the campaign of arrests that began in recent months has received widespread popular support amidst a climate of discontent towards what the newspaper describes as the rampant corruption, political quotas, and the intermingling of interests among parties, businessmen, and armed factions.
It noted that Al-Zaydi pledged, since taking office, to confront corruption "without red lines," alongside working to confine weapons to the state, considering that both issues have become interconnected amidst the financial pressures facing Iraq and regional tensions.
The Guardian quoted government sources stating that the recent measures represent a "quake" within political circles, and that the goal extends beyond stopping a number of suspects, but also aims to dismantle what it described as the "financial empires" of the parties and cut off their channels of benefit from state institutions, contracts, and government projects.
The newspaper addressed the system of political quotas that became entrenched in Iraq after 2003, quoting an international banker who had previously worked on reforming the system as saying that the parties had created, in his words, "states within a state," benefiting from their shares in ministries, institutions, and government contracts.
The report allocated significant space to the case of the suspended Oil Ministry agent for refining affairs, Adnan Al-Jumaili, who the newspaper considered a model for what it describes as the mechanisms of corruption within state institutions.
According to The Guardian, Al-Jumaili was arrested on May 30, and photos of him were shown during investigations, while authorities spoke of seizing financial amounts, properties, and gold related to the case. The Supreme Judicial Council announced in June that the seized funds in the case rose to 10 million dollars and 31 billion dinars, in addition to confiscating 70 properties, 21 vehicles, and gold jewelry, while investigations against the suspect and other parties continue.
The British report revealed that investigations uncovered suspicions related to contracts, projects, financial transfers, and files linked to the oil sector, while the newspaper quoted sources saying that the case led to broader investigations that resulted in further arrests.
The Guardian also quoted Prime Minister Al-Zaydi as stating that Al-Jumaili attempted, before his arrest, to bribe him with 200 million dollars to keep him in his position, while the newspaper indicated reports discussing larger amounts, confirming that the veracity of these claims is subject to investigations and legal procedures.
In this context, the report discussed an increasing American role in supporting the anti-corruption path and strengthening the authority of the Iraqi judiciary, noting that American envoy Tom Barrack was in contact with Iraqi judicial and political circles, according to sources quoted by the newspaper.
The Guardian sees that Al-Jumaili's case has gained particular importance because it touches on sensitive files, including oil smuggling, financing politicians, and state contracts, but at the same time, according to the report, it has not reached the leaders of the major parties, raising questions about the campaign's ability to reach centers of political influence.
The newspaper concludes that the success of the campaign will not be measured merely by the number of arrests or the size of confiscated funds, but by the government's and judiciary's ability to separate state resources from political party networks and to end the economic quota system that allows, according to the sources it spoke to, the conversion of state institutions into sources of funding and influence.
Conversely, The Guardian quoted government and judicial sources as saying there are no guarantees that corruption will end or that parties will cease exploiting state resources, but it pointed out the existence of governmental and judicial willingness to start a new phase, in which Iraq can provide basic services and function as natural state institutions, free from networks of influence and corruption.