Iraqi court sentences two prominent Sunni politicians in corruption case
Azm Alliance leader Muthana Al Samarrai received a six-year prison sentence and Baghdad lawmaker Ziad Al Janabi was sentenced to five years on Thursday, October 29, as Iraq's anti-corruption campaign brought further convictions. A court official told The National that both men were also ordered to pay billions of Iraqi dinars.
Mariam Al Mansoori
Prison terms and financial penalties
Iraq's Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court ordered Al Samarrai to pay 30 billion Iraqi dinars, about $22 million. Al Janabi's punishment was five years of severe imprisonment and a payment of 4 billion dinars, about $3 million, the official said.
The two prominent Sunni politicians were arrested in June during Operation Dawn Crackdown, launched by Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi's government. Al Samarrai heads one of parliament's main Sunni blocs and was a candidate in the upcoming parliamentary elections; Al Janabi is a sitting MP representing Baghdad.
Their cases belong to a series of trials involving four people detained in that sweep. On Tuesday, Hussein Talib, the former director-general of the Oil Products Distribution Company, received an eight-year sentence and a 55 billion-dinar fine.
Iraqi law gives the defendants 30 days to appeal the verdicts to the Court of Cassation.
Oil contracts behind Al Samarrai's conviction
NINA, the Iraqi National News Agency, reported that Al Samarrai's conviction concerned unlawful profits and his role as an intermediary in contracts involving two Oil Ministry affiliates, the North Refineries Company and the South Refineries Company. The Federal Commission of Integrity, also known as Nazaha, conducted investigations and filed lawsuits that preceded the ruling. According to NINA, the 30 billion-dinar payment was an order to repay benefits obtained from those contracts.
The case was brought under Article 319 of the Iraqi Penal Code, which addresses benefits a public official or a person assigned to public service obtains through their position or state contracts. A judicial document cited by Rudaw had set the trial for October 19, 2026, under Article 319 of Penal Code No. 111 of 1969, as amended, together with participation articles 47, 48 and 49. The court issued its verdict on October 29.
Among the witnesses listed in Al Samarrai's trial was Adnan Al Jumaili, the former deputy oil minister for refining affairs, Rudaw reported. Al Jumaili was arrested in late May 2026 on charges involving the embezzlement of around 200 billion dinars, about $152 million.
Rudaw said investigators examining Al Jumaili uncovered a wider network of officials in state institutions. That investigation resulted in the seizure of millions of dollars, gold, vehicles and real estate titles.
Other lawmakers caught in the campaign
The government says Operation Dawn Crackdown has pursued senior officials as well as current and former lawmakers. It has reported seizures at properties linked to suspects that included billions of dinars, millions of US dollars, gold jewelry and gold bars.
Before the latest verdicts, courts had already convicted at least five lawmakers by the end of September 2026, according to Amwaj.media. Three had been elected on former prime minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani's list. They included Ashwaq Al Jubouri, who received seven years in prison on September 23.
The other two lawmakers were members of Sunni parties: Hind Al Abbasi of the Azm Front and Muhammad Farman Shaher of the Takaddum Front. Shaher was sentenced to seven years on September 29, Amwaj.media reported.
On October 5, a Baghdad court also requested that parliament lift MP Zahra Luqman's immunity. Amwaj.media described her as reportedly the first lawmaker from the Badr Organization, led by Hadi Al Ameri, to be targeted in the campaign.
The government presents the operation as a demonstration of its commitment to tackling entrenched corruption, an issue that has repeatedly prompted public protests. Critics argue that Sunni politicians and rival Shiite politicians have been disproportionately targeted; the government rejects that accusation.
Rudaw reported that Iraq scored 28 out of 100 in Transparency International's 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, placing it 136th among 182 countries and territories.
Oversight and recovery of funds
The campaign falls under the Supreme Council for Integrity, Oversight and Recovery of Public Funds, which Al Zaidi established in late May 2026, according to Amwaj.media. Its membership includes the prime minister and public prosecutor, along with the leaders of the Supreme Judicial Council, Federal Commission of Integrity and Federal Board of Supreme Audit.
By late August, government spokesperson Haider Al Aboudi said the campaign had recovered funds, assets and real estate valued at more than 1.359 trillion dinars, or over $1 billion. Rudaw reported his statement to state media.
A separate measure adopted by the Supreme Judicial Council in July 2026 allows people convicted of financial and administrative corruption to receive reduced sentences in return for voluntarily returning embezzled funds, Amwaj.media reported. The mechanism was intended to apply first to the so-called "heist of the century," followed by other major cases involving current and former officials.
