ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's Federal Commission of Integrity announced Thursday that a Baghdad anti-corruption court sentenced lawmaker Mohammed al-Karbouli to two years in prison for soliciting a bribe, as an ongoing nationwide anti-corruption crackdown continues.
“The Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court handed down a two-year rigorous prison sentence to the convict in his presence, along with a fine of 10 million dinars,” the commission posted on Facebook, noting that the “ruling came after he demanded $50,000 in exchange for intervening to close the investigative committees formed against the complainant in the Karkh First Education Directorate, and to keep the complainant in his position as a school principal.”
The sentence comes as Iraq continues a nationwide anti-corruption campaign launched by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in late June in coordination with the Federal Commission of Integrity and the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).
Known as Operation Dawn, the campaign has resulted in the arrest of dozens of Iraqi politicians and lawmakers, former officials, and senior government employees, in addition to hundreds of millions of dollars in stolen assets and seized state properties illegally transferred into private ownership.
The commission said the court found the evidence and testimony presented during the trial sufficient to prove the charges, issuing its ruling under resolution 160, one of Iraq's anti-corruption legal provisions.
Under Iraq’s 1983 resolution 160, public employees who accept or solicit bribes to perform or neglect official duties face five to 10 years in prison and fines determined by the court.
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.
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