Iraq sentences power distribution executive to seven years over illicit gains

Iraqi anti-corruption campaign yields another high-level conviction: An anti-corruption criminal court in Iraq has sentenced former Electricity Ministry official Alaa Samir Rashid to seven years after finding him guilty of illicit enrichment. The court said Rashid, who headed the Central Electricity Distribution Company, unlawfully accumulated about c. USD 9.7 mn in cash, and ordered him to repay the gains plus an equivalent fine, bringing the total owed to roughly IQD 25.7 bn (USD 19.5 mn).

Why it matters: Iraq ranked 136th out of 182 countries on Transparency International’s corruption index, and the electricity ministry in Iraq is a sector OCCRP, a global anti-corruption investigative journalism platform, has described as among the country’s largest and most contested lines of public spending, accounts for several of the campaign’s largest cases so far.

ICYMI- Electricity Ministry Undersecretary Khalid Ghazay Atiya was arrested in August after investigators seized nearly USD 5.8 mn in cash and seven gold bullion bars from his properties, and the director of financial affairs at another state electricity distribution was also sentenced to three years for illicit enrichment and ordered to repay nearly USD 1.1 mn.

BACKGROUND- Iraq’s anti-corruption campaign began with the arrest of Adnan Al Jumaili, the oil minister’s deputy for refining, in late May, before expanding to sweep at least 210 officials, lawmakers, and business figures since the 28 June dawn raids. Several first-degree sentences have been issued over the last three weeks, including at least two against electricity ministry officials.