ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Saturday called on citizens to report stolen public assets, offering whistleblowers financial rewards for helping recover stolen state funds, as authorities expand a nationwide crackdown.
The Prime Minister “calls upon all citizens to report public assets and funds acquired through corruption crimes, to contribute to uncovering, recovering, and returning them to the state,” Zaidi’s media office said in a statement. The office noted that the prime minister “directed that whistleblowers be granted a rewarding financial percentage in accordance with the law.”
The announcement comes as Iraqi authorities are making headway with Operation Dawn, a large-scale anti-corruption campaign launched last week in coordination with Iraq's Federal Commission of Integrity.
The operation has so far netted dozens of Iraqi politicians and lawmakers, former officials, and senior government employees, along with tens of millions of dollars in stolen assets and seized state properties illegally transferred into private ownership.
The prime minister’s media office said the appeal stems from a “legal, moral, and national responsibility,” reflecting Zaidi's commitment to safeguarding public funds under the ministerial program.
Zaidi said Saturday his government would not compromise or turn "a blind eye to any corrupt person, regardless of their affiliations." During a visit to the Ministry of Interior earlier in the day, he called the ministry central to anti-corruption efforts and said all officials would be held accountable.
The operation has resulted in the arrests of over 21 senior government employees, according to government spokesperson Haidar al-Aboudi. Cases extend to former officials, and lawmakers, including notable figures such as former Salahadin governor Raed al-Jubouri, three former members of parliament from Salahadin province, and Adnan al-Jumaili, the former deputy oil minister for refining affairs, accused of embezzlement of 200 billion dinars ($152 million).
Iraq ranked 136th out of 182 countries in Transparency International's 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), scoring 28 out of 100, reflecting a high level of public-sector corruption by global standards.
Human Rights Watch released its World Report 2026 on Iraq, highlighting cases of endemic corruption and impunity undermining the rule of law and public services. Its reference to the latest annual UN Human Rights Council’s evaluation on Iraq’s use of human rights cites concerns of “unfair trials, restrictions on free expression and assembly, and impunity for serious abuses by state-affiliated armed groups and security forces.”
The report underscores key recommendations such as reforming or repealing discriminatory laws and passing domestic violence protections, noting that Iraq was “in the process of drafting a law against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”
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