Iraq arrests 47 officials in anti-corruption sweep as fiscal crisis deepens

Iraq launches crackdown on corruption: Iraqi security forces detained 47 politicians, lawmakers, and government officials in dawn raids across Baghdad on Sunday — a very high-profile anti-corruption operation under the newly minted Prime Minister Ali Al Zaid, Al Jazeera and The National report. The arrests included five MPs, deputy oil minister Ali Maarej, and several others who are reportedly close to former PM Mohammed Shia Al Sudani.

IN CONTEXT- Al Zaidi flagged corruption as a core priority within weeks of taking office after disclosing that he was offered a bribe to cover up embezzlement in the Oil Ministry, which led to the arrest of the deputy oil minister for refining, Adnan Al Jumaili, whose confessions reportedly triggered yesterday’s arrests campaign. Iraq also recently canceled a USD 764 mn PPP contract to modernize Baghdad airport, citing corruption concerns.

The crackdown is Al Zaidi’s most visible early play, and it’s happening against a brutal fiscal backdrop. Iraq ran a USD 5 bn (IQD 6.7 tn) deficit in the first four months of 2026. Public-sector salaries accounted for more than half the bill at IQD 20.5 tn, while oil revenue came at about IQD 26 tn — a fraction of what Baghdad planned. The prior budget assumed output of around 3.4 mn bbl / d, but production has collapsed to roughly a third of that level while Hormuz remained largely closed.

The bigger problem? There is still no updated budget, and the delay has consequences beyond optics. Legislators have put forward a stopgap spending plan of IQD 20-30 tn designed to fund basic government operations and honour existing contracts, but Al Zaidi's cabinet, which has met only a handful of times since mid-May, has not moved yet on a new budget.