ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A lawmaker from the Iraqi parliament late Wednesday displayed skepticism over the ongoing anti-corruption probe in the oil ministry, claiming that it is steered by political and sectarian preferences.
"This current campaign looks more like a political purge than a genuine effort to eradicate corruption,” Sherwan Dubardani, a member of the Iraqi parliament's security and defense committee, told Rudaw.
He pointed out that, so far, only Sunni officials have been arrested for corruption, whereas corruption cases are often closed through "political agreements" between the factions.
The infamous corruption case against former Deputy Minister of Oil for Refining Affairs Adnan al-Jumaili involves the confiscation of $85 million, luxury cars, 70 properties, and about three kilograms of gold from the detained official and “his associates”, according to the Iraqi judiciary, which periodically publishes the results of the ongoing investigations.
A former official from the Saladin province has also been arrested on Tuesday in relation to the case.
According to Dubardani, Jumaili has confessed the names of 128 individuals implicated in various corruption cases to the court.
"Kurdish officials are also named in Jumaili's corruption list,” he noted.
Showing skepticism regarding anti-corruption efforts in the country, Dubardani said, "corruption has become a culture; it is stronger than the system and stronger than the state."
He revealed that an Iraqi court is investigating a defense ministry contract purchase of 800 trucks, on the grounds that their prices were inflated to 462 billion dinar (around $353 million).
According to a document obtained by Rudaw, the ministry was notified that an investigation had begun investigating a contract between the ministry and the General Company for Automotive Trade, belonging to the trade ministry.
Dubardani cited the contract as an example of the absolute majority of ministerial contracts.
"In a vehicle procurement contract for the defense ministry, a vehicle with an actual value of $40,000 was billed to the ministry at $300,000. Consequently, a case has now been opened in parliament, demanding the details of the contract,” he said.
Iraq ranked 136th out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) in 2025, scoring 28 out of 100, reflecting a high prevalence of public-sector corruption compared to global standards.
Sheraz Rauf contributed to this report from Erbil, Kurdistan Region.
